PSYCHED
by Masteroth
Summary: A mysterious killer is on the lose, and it will be Team Gibbs' biggest challenge yet. And Tony's. In more ways than one. WARNING: Strong sexual content, obscene language and graphic scenes. Please rate and review! THANK YOU. My first NCIS story by the way
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

**SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13th, 03.00 AM**

The cries echoed throughout the night from the empty warehouse building. She had finally finished her latest quest of taking on a marine. She had dreamt about this for months, because it was said that if anyone could fight back – it would be a marine. However he hadn't put up as strong a fight as she had hoped for… still it was too easy. But… there was a bonus connected to killing sergeant Joe Phillips. And she couldn't wait to experience it unfold – IF they were good enough to catch her. And if they were… Well, she hadn't planned that quite yet.

Whistling cheerfully Cassandra grabbed the car keys and walked outside, leaving the mess behind. She felt almost high – as she always did when she had finished off a target of hers. The Toyota immediately sent out a short pulse of orange light as she unlocked it from a distance. Glancing back at the abandoned warehouse she smiled and drove off into the night.

**

**THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 09.00 AM**

"What on earth happened here", Ziva burst out as she pushed some of the sheets which were hanging from the ceiling aside. Gibbs just sent her a stare as he was bossing DiNozzo and especially McGee around, taking all of the photos they could in all possible angles.

"What does it look like, agent David?", Gibbs then said and she looked at the messy gore in front of her. She had never seen anything quite like this before. A naked man was tied to some heavy chains hanging from the ceiling, which seemed to be linked to some sort of mechanical lever system. Which meant, that the chains could go both up and down and to the sides by sliding on some rails in the ceiling. There were blood drops below the dangling man, but no real spatters… he was severely beaten up, but most likely the cause of death seen from Ziva's point of view would probably be… Ziva looked around… and sighed. She simply couldn't tell.

"Well?", Gibbs asked, interrupting her chain of thought. She looked at her boss:

"Umm, well, it looks like some sort of bizarre sex game gone wrong", she said and eyed the naked man up and down. No trace of a lethal cut, blow or anything like that.

"Do we have a name?", Gibbs then asked the three of them. McGee and Ziva shook their heads, but Tony immediately held up a black leather wallet:

"We do indeed, boss. A Joe Phillips… whoever did this was either sloppy or wanted to leave us something. I'm having doubts on the last one though", he said and smiled his typical 'I'm-so-funny-and-sexy' smile. Gibbs winked at DiNozzo and then turned to McGee just as Ducky entered the crime scene.

"Oh my", was all the old man could say as he eyed the man up and down, and right away his mind was already racing to determine cause of death. However at the moment he was about as blank as Ziva.

"McGee – what have we got so far?", Gibbs asked the young agent, who summed up everything they had found:

"A bundle of torn clothes by the north wall, looks like a shirt, a tie and some uniform pants, a bullwhip, an empty can of coke and the wallet that Tony found by the clothes", McGee said, trying to be as precise concise as he could, even though his stomach was turning a little by the sight. Gibbs nodded as Dr Mallard was investigating the body hanging from the chains by his wrists. There were several bruises to the face and rib cage, cuts here and there, no signs of strangulation…

"Ducky?", Gibbs asked with a raised eyebrow and joined the old man next to the body.

"Well… No external signs of a cause of death. An autopsy will give us the answer, I'm sure. Time of death, somewhere between 9pm Saturday to 10am Sunday", Ducky said and turned to his assistant:

"What do you say, Palmer?", he asked and Palmer merely nodded. He couldn't seem to find any indication of what killed this man either. Gibbs turned to his crew:

"Bag everything, we're heading back to the office", he said, but suddenly McGee said something:

"Umm, boss? I think you need to see this"

Gibbs immediately headed over to where McGee was squatting by the bundle of clothes. Out from the pocket of the torn white shirt, McGee had pulled out a piece of paper. Everyone's eyes seemed to grow a little wider – because it looked like a ransom note. The paper was plastered with cut out letters from magazines and news papers and McGee read it out loud:

* * *

**SO YOU FIGURED IT YET?  
14-0  
I AM WAITING  
- the gamer**

* * *

Tony looked puzzled:

"What kind of a signature is THAT?", he said and shook his head.

"Maybe someone who plays a lot of computer games?", McGee asked and looked around.

"Well, then it narrows it down to 50% of America's population, including YOU, probie", Tony said sarcastically as he started bagging the evidence.

**

**THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 11.00 AM**

Back at the headquarters Ziva and Tony were sitting by their desks while Ducky, Palmer and the diseased were in the morgue. All of the bagged evidence had been turned over to Abby, who was already testing and analyzing like crazy while listening to her favorite heavy metal.  
In the office Ziva and Tony were discussing the possible motive behind this bizarre murder.

"I bet it was some gay sex freak who likes it rough", Tony said and looked at his fellow agent, who just sighed and rolled her eyes:

"Is everything about sex to you?", Ziva asked annoyed. A few seconds of silence passed:

"Yes, it is… and to you too, agent David… just listen to your instincts and you will be set free!", Tony whispered in some sort of hallelujah-voice and then let out a laugh.

"Well, maybe I DO listen to my instincts", Ziva snapped back and a skew smile spread on Tony's face:

"That means you do it too??", Tony teased and shot up his eyebrows as if he was in awe.

"Yes, but never with you, because you're disgusting", Ziva said calmly and eyed Tony up and down, wrinkling her nose. Tony winked at her:

"They all say that before…", he started, but both of them jumped in their seats when the sound of Gibbs' angry voice was heard:

"This is not kindergarden! Give me something. Now", Gibbs said and bent forwards a bit to have a look at Tony's screen:

"Yes boss. One sergeant Joe Phillips, 36, stationed on Fairchild marine base. Was supposed to ship out yesterday, but has been missing from base since Thursday", Tony said and continued:

"Also his criminal record is spotless, he was a former NAVY SEAL and top of his class. His wife's name is Norma, and he has a son, Shawn, age 5. They live no more than twenty miles from here", he finished and looked up at Gibbs:

"Let's go see the wife. Abby is testing the note for fingerprints along with the rest of the evidence", Gibbs said and waved at the two agents to follow him to the car.

**

**THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 12.30 PM**

As the agents with Gibbs behind the wheel drove up Cypress Lane they discussed what the paper had said. Tony kept claiming that it had probably been done by some gay sex maniac.

"Heard of snuff before?? Ever seen that movie '8 mm'?? Nicholas Cage plays this cool…", he began, but was immediately cut off by Gibbs and Ziva:

"DiNozzo!"

"Tony!", they said at the same time and Tony leaned back in his seat:

"Okay, okay… Sorry, boss", he said as they got out of the car. However what Tony had said had been noticed by Gibbs. Snuff indeed was a real thing, and not just in movies… also it was known as 'death porn'… But there had been no evidence suggesting that it had been filmed, but maybe this killer wasn't interested in the economical benefit… or trophies to remember his killings. If there WERE more. But his gut was telling him that there probably was.  
As they knocked on the wooden door they all sent each other a 'good-luck-stare'… It was never nice delivering bad news. Or digging in people's emotions while ruling out that a relative COULD actually be their man. The door opened and a pretty redhead looked at them with the usual confused and sad look.

"Norma Phillips?", Gibbs asked and the pale woman nodded.

" I'm agent Gibbs, NCIS, this is agent DiNozzo and agent David. Can we come in?", he asked and the woman nodded and let them enter the hallway.

"Has something happened to Joe???", she immediately asked and looked at them with a stare that seemed to beg for them to say 'no'. Gibbs looked down for a second and then delivered the bad news:

"Your husband was found dead today ", he said and immediately Norma's shoulders started trembling and broke down crying, resting her back against the side of the staircase.

"We are so sorry for your loss", Ziva compassionately said and gave Norma a tissue.

"What am I supposed to say to Shawn?", Norma cried and at the same moment a child's voice was heard and some footsteps from upstairs:

"Mommy, look what I made!", the little boy yelled as he ran down the staircase and eyed the agents.

"Hello there", Ziva immediately said and looked at Shawn, who was holding a drawing in his small hands.

"Hi", Shawn said and Ziva looked back at Norma, who was still shaking, covering her mouth and nose with the tissue.

"What have you got there?", Ziva asked and smiled at Shawn. The boy sent her a smile, which showed that he was missing one of his front baby teeth.

"A drawing", Shawn said and Ziva looked shortly at Gibbs, who nodded.

"Want to show me your drawing?", Ziva said in a maternal voice and the little boy nodded with a grin as he ran down the rest of the stairs.

"Come on, let's go in the living room. That drawing really looks nice! Is that superman who is….", Ziva said as they walked into the living room and their voices faded out.

"Would it be alright if we asked you some questions?", Gibbs asked Norma, who barely was able to look up from the drenched tissue. Still she nodded and finally removed the tissue from her mouth and nose:

"What happened to my husband? What happened to Joe?", Norma asked and looked from Gibbs to Tony.

"We think he was murdered, Mrs Phillips", Gibbs said as Norma's eyes grew wide:

"What?? Why?? Who would…", she started, but the tears got the best of her again.

"We were hoping maybe you could tell us. Did your husband have any enemies, Mrs Phillips?", Tony asked and studied her puzzled facial expression:

"No… No, he is… was friends with everyone...", Norma sobbed and looked from DiNozzo to Gibbs.

"Did your husband ever cheat on you?", Tony asked and Norma's eyes seemed to blaze with anger as if she wanted to hit Tony:

"NO!! He would never do such a thing! What are these questions!?", she asked and started to cry again. Gibbs bit his lower lip:

"I am sorry, Mrs Phillips, but we have to ask. Did your husband have any specific sexual preferences?", he asked and this time Norma's crying fell a little more silent as she looked at them:

"Umm… well… He liked… to be tied up and such. Why do you ask?", she asked and looked at them suspiciously. Gibbs cleared his throat:

"Because his killer seemed to be aware of this. So he liked to be dominated?", Gibbs asked and she nodded as her cheeks flushed with red.

"Does anyone know about this besides you?", Tony asked and she shook her head. But then she seemed to think of something:

"Wait… yes, we went to a swinger club once in a basement on 12th street. But we were only there once", she said and shook her head:

"I can't believe he's gone", she whispered and covered her face with the tissue again. Tony looked at Gibbs - The wife wasn't cleared yet, but obviously they had a sex club to visit.

"We are sorry, Mrs Phillips. Thank you for your cooperation. If you think of anything more, please contact me on this number", Gibbs said and handed her his business card.

"Agent David", Gibbs said and Ziva appeared in the doorway, looking at Gibbs. She then turned her head and ruffled the boy's hair:

"You are a really good drawer, you. Maybe you could go and draw a picture of batman for your mom?", she asked and right away Shawn lit up in a smile:

"Yay!", he yelled as he ran back up the stairs. Ziva then gained eye contact with Norma who whispered 'thank you' under her breath. The agents then left the house to return to the office and hopefully some results from Abby and Ducky.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

**THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 01.30 PM**

As Gibbs, DiNozzo and David sat in the car heading for the headquarters, the conversation was again focused on the weird letter from the crime scene. It just didn't make much sense.

"And what is that '14-0' about?? And the 'I'm waiting for you'??", Ziva asked and Gibbs tilted his head a bit, deep in thoughts. Otherwise he was pretty much silent during the whole ride.

"Maybe it's a time? Maybe whoever killed him wants to meet up somehow?", Tony asked into the air and rubbed his chin. Ziva looked confused for a moment.

"But what time is '14-0'?", Tony mumbled and shook his head in irritation. He hated when a riddle was yet unsolved. Ziva looked at Gibbs:

"Well, in Europe and such places they use 'digital time'… which means that 14-0 would be 2PM… Only missing a zero", Ziva said and everyone in the car fell completely silent for a few seconds.

"That's in thirty minutes", Gibbs just said and looked as if he was far gone in thoughts. Tony and Ziva just looked at each other…

"But where then?", Ziva asked and both DiNozzo and Gibbs shook their heads slowly. How could they ever figure THAT out? And in half an hour??

The car stopped in the parking lot and all three of them hurried to get out and get to the lab, maybe Abby could have deciphered something vital in order to solve some of this bizarre puzzle.  
As they entered the lab from the elevator, the blast of Cannibal Corpse's deep and heavy guitar solo hit their ears with an almost painful force. In front of them was Abby with her back to them, dancing slightly to and fro as she hammered on the keyboards and kept an eye on the multiple screens. Gibbs rolled his eyes for a moment as they stood there behind her about to yell in order for her to turn it down.

"Just a sec, Gibbs!", Abby suddenly yelled and reached up to the ghettoblaster and turned it down. She then turned around and smiled, however she looked slightly surprised:

"AND Tony AND Ziva", she said.

"Hello Abby. Got anything?", Gibbs asked and immediately Abby nodded and turned towards the screens:

"Well, the clothes were pretty much clean, though I DID find some dry fibers, which I couldn't quite identify", Abby said and turned one of the big screens in the direction of the three agents.

"But I did anyway", Abby smiled and then a picture of a tree came up on the screen. Gibbs looked confused for a moment:

"A tree?", he asked and looked closer as if to discover something brilliant. But… it was a tree.

"Not just any tree, Gibbs. It is a Clethra Acuminata, Cinnamon Clethra is a small deciduous tree native to the southern Appalachian region. Its common name comes from the beautiful cinnamon color of the inner bark, which is naturally revealed as the outer layers peel away. Actually the color varies somewhat, from pinkish gold to ochre red, and variations on the same plant can create a mottled pattern. The effect is especially apparent in winter and…", Abby eccentrically explained, until she was cut off by Gibbs:

"Abby! The point please", he said and Abby nodded:

"_Clethra Acuminata_ is only found in small scattered populations from southern Pennsylvania to northern Alabama, Gibbs. Which means that either the victim or the killer was there prior to murder", Abby said and finished off with a big smile as she drank some of her coffee.

"Good Abs, really good – but what else?", Gibbs asked and Abby put on a kind if little girl's pout, but then smiled and turned towards the table where the bagged evidence was placed:

"Well, only the victim's fingerprints were on the wallet and I found different, but partial fingerprints on the soda can, but either they were too damaged or they simply aren't in the database. I tried to scrape for saliva on the opening of the can, but it had been sprayed with ammoniac… can't be used", Abby said and bit her lower lip. Gibbs let out a sigh.

"So basically we have a John Doe as a killer, that's perfect… what about the note and the bullwhip?", Gibbs asked and eyed the paper, which was lying in the transparent plastic bag on the table along with the other items. Abby looked kind of sad:

"No fingerprints or DNA or anything on the note or bullwhip… sorry", she said and watched as Gibbs rubbed his sore eyes.

"However I matched the paper type of several of the cut out letters, seems they are all from the same magazine and news paper. Penthouse and a local newspaper…", Abby said and it seemed to wake up Gibbs:

"Local newspaper where??", he asked and Abby sent him a triumphant smile:

"Right about… here", she said and smiled. The agents looked at each other. This evidence probably meant, that their man was a local… which meant that he was somewhere right under their noses.

"Abby, what do you think '14-0' means?", Gibbs asked and the other two agents seemed to tense up a bit, eager to hear her version of this mind game. Abby shrugged:

"That you need to find 13 more bodies I guess", she said and sucked up the coffee drink through the straw. The agents' eyes grew wide. They hadn't thought about it that way before. Tony looked at Ziva:

"European digital time??", he said sarcastically, but was cut off when Gibbs' phone rang. He immediately took it from his inner pocket and took the call:

"Gibbs", he said and then frowned a bit.

"Alright, I'll be right there", he said and put the phone back in his pocket, looking at Tony and Ziva:

"That was McGee. There has just been a delivery to the office, a parcel addressed to me personally… written in blood supposedly. Follow me, and thanks Abs", Gibbs said and right away they got into the elevator.

As they walked through the office they were greeted by McGee who just pointed towards a desk where a brown parcel was standing.

"Who delivered it?", Gibbs asked and McGee shook his head:

"UPS", he said and looked a little paler than normal. Gibbs carefully inspected the parcel… it simply wasn't big enough to contain a bomb. It was about the size of a pack of smokes. 'Valuable – handle with care', it said across the brown paper and there was no return address on it. Gibbs' name and the address of the office did seem to look like dried blood…

"Aren't you going to open it?", Tony asked and looked at the parcel curiously. Gibbs said:

"I guess I am", he said and grabbed a hold of a pair of scissors and slid one of the blades along the edge plastered with tape. Without even realizing it the three other agents stepped back a little.

"Wait, what if it is anthrax?", Tony asked and looked at Gibbs nervously. Gibbs just shook his head:

"This guy doesn't want us dead… he likes the chase. And I think he's about to throw us a bone", Gibbs said and finally flipped up the paper lid of the parcel – nothing happened. Everyone bent forwards a bit to have a look, and they all frowned a little:

"A tape?? A stupid tape?", Tony said, but Gibbs and Ziva shushed him. This could contain everything from fingerprints to other clues. It was a dictaphone tape, like the ones doctors use. And as Gibbs lifted up the tape there was a folded up piece of paper below it. He immediately grabbed it and opened it – another letter written in cut out paper pieces. It read:

* * *

**KNOCK KNOCK  
I'M STILL WAITING  
- the gamer**

* * *

Gibbs sighed and got up from his bent-over position as he looked at his watch – 2pm…:

"To the lab. NOW!", he said in a kind of angry tone of voice. He hated to be played with. Especially mocked. He just hoped that there was something on this tape that could bring this psycho to justice. Just SOME kind of hint. As they walked towards the elevator, Gibbs turned to McGee:

"McGee, find out where that parcel came from!", he said and got into the elevator, headed for the lab.

"Yes boss", McGee said under his breath and sat down by the computer, accessing the UPS database… This would take hours probably.

As they reached the lab, Gibbs handed to parcel to Abby:

"Check for everything", he said and was about to turn around to leave, when Abby said:

"I just got some new lab results from the victim's blood and stomach content", she said and Gibbs froze in his tracks. It didn't take many seconds before he was all ears. Abby again showed them a lot of graphs and curves on the screens.

"There was a high concentration of benzodiazepine, Sildenafil citrate and a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor… oh, and a tuna sandwich", Abby said and looked at the three agents. However they all looked like question marks.

"And what does that mean, Abs?", Gibbs asked.

"I thought you would never ask", Abby smiled and pointed at a large point on the graph:

"The dose of sildenafil is 25 milligrams to 100 milligrams taken not more than once per day… Our victim had 225 milligrams in his system and…", Abby started, but was cut off by Gibbs:

"So he is an O.D.?", he asked. Abby looked a little speculative:

"I guess you could call it that, when you're drugged on benzodiazepines and Viagra and then go for a very long… well, joy ride", she said and sucked on her straw. All three agents looked flabbergasted.

"I think it's time to see Ducky", Gibbs said and Abby nodded.

"You stay here", Gibbs said to Tony and Ziva and got in the elevator, heading for the morgue.

"Peaches", Ziva said and Tony looked at her:

"It's called 'peachy', unless you're either starving for fruit or find me attractive", he said and again Ziva wrinkled her nose.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

**THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 2.30 PM**

"Good afternoon, Jethro", Ducky said as Gibbs entered the morgue, walking straight up to the autopsy table. He looked a little troubled, Ducky thought, as he studied the way Gibbs rubbed his eyes.

"What have you got for me, Ducky?", Gibbs asked and leaned slightly over the body on the cold steel table. Dr Mallard smiled and tilted his head a bit:

"Well, I have got no evidence of any outer trauma causing this fellow to die… on the inside though…", Ducky said and trailed off a bit as he grabbed a steel bowl from the other table. It contained a heart and Gibbs turned his head away slightly – it wasn't exactly a scent of perfume coming from that bowl.

"Joe Phillips' heart – and what's wrong with it?", Gibbs asked and looked at the yellowish and pink tissue. Ducky clicked his tongue:

"I talked to Abby and those lab results really did shed some light on this case, because he WAS definitely too young and fit for a heart attack…", Ducky started, but Gibbs butted in:

"A heart attack?? Not an overdose?", he asked and Ducky smiled at his younger colleague:

"Both. An overdose of Viagra leading to a heart attack. Mr Palmer and I found a lot of semen pretty much everywhere – and it is only from the victim. Up until now we haven't found any other DNA, only rubber and ammoniac residue", Ducky said and looked at Gibbs, who seemed to be rather flabbergasted.

"What?", he just said and looked at Ducky. If this murder was about what this evidence seemed to imply… then it was the weirdest case he had ever seen. Ducky shook his head:

"We also found marks from chains around his wrists and some duct tape glue around his ankles and mouth. No internal bleeding, but he has a fractured rib. His heart gave out somewhere between 6pm and 8am Saturday to Sunday. Basically it seems that this man had sex... until he died", he said and corrected his white coat.

"What a way to die", he mumbled and looked at Palmer:

"Wouldn't you say?", he asked the younger man, who merely nodded. Ducky then looked back at Gibbs, who just sighed.

"So we have a sex predator on the lose", Gibbs said almost under his breath and Ducky nodded. Gibbs wrinkled his brows a little:

"Can I borrow your dictaphone, Ducky?", he asked as he eyed it on the other table. Ducky let out a laugh:

"Well, you can double check anything you like. Just take it, Jethro – I have more where that came from", he said and handed the small dictaphone to Gibbs.

"Keep searching for other DNA – anything, Ducky!", Gibbs said as he turned around and left the morgue.

**

As Gibbs returned to the lab Abby was done dusting the parcel, the dictaphone, the note and the dictaphone tape for fingerprints without success.

"No fingerprints, however the blood belongs the the victim", Abby said and sounded like she was pretty disappointed herself. Gibbs however just sent her a little, skew smile and grabbed the little tape out of Abby's slender, pale hand.

"Figures", Gibbs just said as he clicked the tape into the dictaphone, replacing it with Ducky's autopsy tape. Abby, Tony and Ziva looked at each other a little puzzled about Gibbs' sudden almost cheerful behavior. But then again – he always WAS pretty unpredictable.

"Let's hear what's on this tape... Abs, check for any sounds in the background and analyze the source", he said and clicked shut the dictaphone as he handed it back to Abby. She immediately connected the little tape recorder to an audio device linked to a screen. She nodded at Gibbs for him to press play.

"Here we go", Gibbs said and pushed down the small, black button. As Abby turned up the speakers a metallic, computer-generated voice could be heard:

* * *

**HELLO, NCIS. IF YOU HEAR THIS TAPE YOU OBVIOUSLY HAVEN'T FOUND ME YET. I AM DISAPPOINTED. BUT HERE IS A TREAT – OR SHOULD I SAY THREAT?**

**ALL BLOOD SHALL DRY  
NORMA'S SILLY CRY  
TICKS ME GLAD ASLEEP  
HIS HONOR I KEEP  
ON MY MANTEL PIECE  
NEVER SHALL I CEASE  
YOUR HEARTS SHALL FREEZE**

**- The Gamer**

* * *

"What the hell??", Tony spat out. Everyone was just looking at each other. This message sure was weird, and again they were being mocked. And Gibbs didn't like it one bit.

"A poem? He sent us a poem", Tony said and glared at the floor, biting his lip in frustration. Ziva looked from Gibbs to Abby to Tony and back again:

"Maybe it's another code??", she asked and looked thoughtful. Abby shrugged with a sad expression on her face.

"Abs, run it through the computer. Find out what programme made this message", Gibbs said and looked at the ceiling for a second, making a little crack with his neck. Ziva and Tony looked at each other... Gibbs seemed more frustrated than they had ever seen him before. He looked tired too.

"And write down the message word for word, find out if there is any sort of code, anything", he added and Abby nodded:

"I'm on it. I didn't get an A on my English exam though, but I'll give it my best, boss", Abby swiftly replied and started working on the computer. Gibbs then looked at Tony and Ziva:

"DiNozzo, we have a club to visit on 12th street. David, help McGee track that UPS delivery", he said and waved at them to follow him into the elevator just as Abby turned up the message again and started analyzing.

**

**THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 3.30 PM**

As Gibbs and Tony drove up 12th street there was an awkward silence in the car. The thirty minutes it had taken for them to get here had been pretty much silent too. Tony was getting a bit worried about Gibbs, because he acted as if he was a bit... far away in thoughts. He usually was like that when they had a complicated case, but Tony's gut just told him that something was off with his boss. He wasn't sure what though. Or maybe there really wasn't anything.  
The car stopped on the opposite side of a basement club called "Daisy's"... The only basement business not closed or for sale. This had to be it.  
DiNozzo and Gibbs stepped out of the car and headed across the street towards the club. Three steps lead down to a big, green door with a peephole in it. Gibbs immediately rang the bell and as soon as he heard footsteps on the other side he raised up his badge.

"NCIS – open up please!", he said in a loud voice to make sure that it could be heard on the other side of the heavy oak door.  
The door opened with a small quirk and a brunette stuck her head out. Tony immediately looked her up and down, but she really wasn't his cup of tea, so he quickly lost interest in THAT sense. She was kind of chubby and had quite a lot of pimples... also she had to be past thirty.

"Agent Gibbs, NCIS, this is agent DiNozzo – can we come in?", Gibbs asked and the brunette looked kind of shocked and nodded as she opened the door further.

"What is this about?", she asked in a thick accent and stepped aside as they walked in.

"We're investigating a homicide, miss...??", Tony said and looked at her.

"Pavlona. Olga Pavlona", she replied as she looked at them almost suspiciously.

"You russian, Miss Pavlona?", Gibbs asked as his eyes quickly scanned the gloomy room behind her. The chubby lady shook her head slightly:

"No, I am from Ukraine", she said and followed the two agents as they walked into the dark, small room. It was more like a hallway really. Behind a lava lamp on a counter was another woman, who looked up from her papers and stared surprised at them. Tony immediately broke away from Gibbs and put an elbow on the counter, looking at the quite young redhead:

"Tony DiNozzo, NCIS. What is your name, miss?", he asked in his most slick voice as he looked her up and down. She looked a little disgusted when she noticed how this agent was looking at her, and she put down her papers:

"I'm Alexis Carpenter. What is going on?", she asked to try and take the agent's attention away from her cleavage. Tony sent her a brilliant, yet serious smile:

"We're investigating a murder case. Do you remember this man?", Tony asked and slid a photograph of Joe Phillips across the counter. The lady picked it up and looked at it. As she was looking at the photograph Tony noticed that Gibbs was doing the same with the chubby lady, who explained that she was a cleaning lady here.

"Yes, I remember him... I think", Alexis said and handed the photo back to Tony.

"He was here about five months ago... kind of a weirdo", she said and Tony nodded:

"Do you remember anything else? All information would be useful. Was he here with someone?", he asked and Alexis nodded:

"He was here with a lady, I think she was his age. Around thirty-five or so", she said. DiNozzo looked over at Gibbs, and the Olga lady was saying pretty much the same as far as he could hear.

"How was he weird?", Tony asked and watched as the lady bit her lower lip a bit as if she was shy.

"Well... He seemed to like bondage and such. That pair really caught the others' attention... He almost put the whole club on a hold", she said and looked at Tony. He could swear that he saw her cheeks flush with red.

"And what is your job in this place?", Tony asked. The redhead smiled:

"I'm just the cassier... make reservations, count the money. I just do what my boss says, after all it pays okay", Alexis said and Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Your boss? Who's that?", he asked and followed the invisible line of the lady's index finger, pointing to the ceiling.

"His office is upstairs, right over there", she said and then pointed to a dark, dusty curtain hanging next to where Gibbs and Olga were standing.

"Thank you, miss Carpenter", DiNozzo said and winked at her as he dropped his business card onto the counter.

"Call me if you recall anything more. Or want to have dinner or something", he said and smiled as he turned to Gibbs and Olga. Behind him Alexis was shaking her head in annoyance, but she couldn't help but smile.

"Boss, upstairs?", Tony asked and Gibbs nodded. He had overheard most of the conversation anyway.

"Thank you, Miss Pavlona. Here's my card if you think of something more", he said and handed her his card. Then the two agents walked up to the old curtain and pulled it gently aside – which revealed a narrow staircase leading upstairs. The wooden steps shrieked a bit under their shoes, and soon they found themselves in a small hallway with only one door. Once it had been white, but the paint was colored with lots of nicotine. Knocking at the door Gibbs waited for a reply... a few seconds passed:

"Yeah?!", a man's voice said and Gibbs turned the door knob. As they walked in a thick fog of cigarette smoke hit them square in the face, making Tony cringe a little. Behind a desk was a man in his forties, a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. He was wearing a white cotton shirt and some black pants, no tie or business-look there.

"Who the hell are you??", the man asked and they both showed their badges, saying their names and business there. The man just looked at them as he sucked on his smoke.

"And who are you?", Tony asked and closed in on the desk a bit, studying whatever he could find lying around. But as he came close, the man opened a drawer and both Gibbs and Tony immediately reached for their weapons –

"Easy!!", the man said:

"I just wanted to show you guys the contract for this place, geez", he said and stared at Tony and Gibbs. Tony walked a little closer to have a look at the open drawer – nothing but papers.

"Okay", Tony said and both of the agents put their guns away. The man took the piece of paper from the drawer and handed it to Gibbs, who quickly read it.

"Seems legit. But why are you showing us the contract?", he asked. The man looked confused for a moment:

"Just so you wouldn't think something shady is going on in my joint!", he said and looked a bit angry. Gibbs couldn't help but smile a little:

"Well, a marine was murdered this Saturday and we're just looking for answers", Gibbs said:

"He was seen here about five months ago", he added and looked at the man, who tilted his head:

"And what exactly do you think I know about that? Ask Alexis, she's the one with the guest lists", he said and looked at Gibbs, who still had a skew smile on his face. He narrowed his eyes a bit as he dropped the photo of the victim on the desk:

"Know him?", he asked and studied the man's facial expression. There seemed to be nothing there. Other than that he hadn't shaved for a couple of days, it seemed.

"Yeah, I recognize him. Pretty bizarre guy... liked to be tied up, hah!", he said and coughed a bit.

"You like poetry, Mr...? I never did get your name", Gibbs said and placed his palms on the desk, leaning towards the man.

"Name's Clarence Buchanan. And no, poetry is for weak souls", he just said as if he didn't give a damn about the situation. He was actually a good looking guy with dark hair and brown eyes, slim and pretty muscular – but he seemed to have quite an addiction to booze and cigarettes. Everywhere were empty og half-empty liquor bottles and cigarette butts.

"Do you think of yourself as a weak soul, Mr Buchanan?", he just asked as he pierced the man with his ice blue eyes. A hoarse laugh came from the man:

"Hell no... Mr Gibbs, poetry are for losers like Poe and Shakespeare and all that shit", he said and looked at Tony who was kind of snooping around.

"It seems to go well with the ladies though", Tony said, but Buchanan immediately interrupted him:

"Don't you go mess up my shit! If you wanna search, get a damn warrant", he said and lit up another cigarette. Gibbs sighed and straightened back up.

"He's right, DiNozzo", he said and walked back to the door.

"Let's get some lunch, I'm starving", Tony said as they walked out of the door. However Gibbs turned around and looked at the man, holding out his business card:

"Call me on this number if you want to talk", he said and placed the card on a shelf by the door.  
They then closed the door and headed back downstairs and to the car.

As they drove off, Tony rubbed his chin:

"Why send us a poem??", he said as if he was talking to himself.

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling", Gibbs said shortly and Tony's eyebrow shot up:

"How so, boss?", he asked, but Gibbs didn't answer.

**

**THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 5.00 PM**

As Tony and Gibbs walked into the office, Tony turned to his boss:

"I understand that you want to solve this, but my stomach is killing me here! I need to eat!", he said and looked almost pleadingly at his boss.

"There are candy bars in McGee's drawer", Gibbs just said as he placed his hands on Tim's desk:

"What have you got on the UPS delivery, McGee?", he asked as Tony sat himself down by his desk with a rumbling stomach.

"Well, the stamps on the parcel are dated Wednesday, February 17th at 5pm. Normal shipping hours. I called UPS and asked, and they said that the parcel came from Louisville, Kentucky. It was brought to the UPS near Lousville Waterfront Park and it was demanded that it was sent as a special, anonomous delivery", McGee said and watched as Gibbs sighed:

"Pretty good, but who delivered it to the UPS?", he asked and McGee looked at his desk:

"It was left on the door mat along with a pretty big amount of money, Boss", he said as his cheeks flushed with red. Everyone jumped as Gibbs slammed his fist down on mcGee's desk:

"Dammit!!!", he yelled and walked towards the elevator. Everyone fell completely silent...


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

**THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 5.30 PM**

Abby was typing on the keyboards and monitoring the screens as Gibbs entered the lab from the elevator. As usual the heavy metal music was playing, this time by the band Deicide, and Abby was just about to turn around and turn it down when she felt Gibbs' presence – however, their hands met by the ghettoblaster and Gibbs turned the music completely off on the volume control. He then looked at Abby, who seemed rather surprised:

"Hello, Gibbs…", she started, however Gibbs walked up to the screens behind her, leaving her there in a kind of frozen position.

"Yes, let's look at the screens, because I actually did find something but it's pretty common, but I think I can fix it, just like one time where…", Abby started, but Gibbs interrupted her:

"Abs!", he just said and she fell silent, just looking at him.

"What… have… you… got?", he said in a monotone, yet demanding voice and turned his glance back to the screens. One of them showed some sort of green graph on a black background. Abby carefully placed herself next to him and pointed at the graph:

"Well, as the message is computer-generated there is no background noises, because it's all made in a text-to-speech programme. I found out which one though, it's called NaturalReader 9.0, so I accessed their database, however it can be downloaded on the net for free and thousands of people have downloaded it just within the last thirty-two hours…", she explained and Gibbs looked at her:

"So you got nothing?", he asked and shook his head. Abby looked down:

"It's a very common programme, Gibbs..!", Abby said in a almost depressed tone of voice and looked back up with a sigh.

"Whoever did this is pretty clever", she added and Gibbs turned his head towards her:

"I'll be damned if he is more clever than us! TELL me you got something from the note, Abs", he said angrily and looked towards the desk with the two bagged notes. Abby bit her lip:

"Well, the killer has something from the victim on his mantel piece and… he thinks that Norma's silly…", she said and Gibbs immediately let out an angry, irritated sigh:

"Everyone knew that much, Abs!", he said, but then seemed to calm down a bit. Abby looked speculative for a moment:

"Why did he mention Norma's cry, I mean, he wasn't…", she started, but Gibbs finished her sentence:

"There…!", he said and looked at Abby.

"Or maybe the house is tapped", Abby said and finally Gibbs sent her a small smile.

"You're still in the game, Abs. Good job", he said and turned to the elevator to go back to the office – however his phone rang. Gibbs picked it up:

"Gibbs", was the short greeting.

"I'll be right there", he said and hung up. Abby looked at him curiously.

"That was Ducky, apparently he found something", Gibbs said and walked in the elevator and pushed the button for the basement. As the doors closed Abby turned to her screens again and couldn't help but smile.

**

As Gibbs entered the morgue he walked up to the steel table and looked at the body. It was pretty cut up and bruised and the skin was beginning to get a more yellowish-green shade.

"Hello Jethro", Dr Mallard said and smiled.

"So what did you find?", Gibbs asked to cut right to the chase. He frowned a bit as Ducky held up a pair of tweezers in front of his face – in between there seemed to be some sort of splinter-like needle.

"What's that? A splinter?", Gibbs asked a little dumbfounded and Dr Mallard shrugged:

"Yes, I guess", he said and put the little wooden needle back into a small sterile bowl.

"You called me downhere for a splinter? He could have got that anywhere", Gibbs said and stared at Ducky, who seemed to find the whole situation rather amusing.

"Four splinters of the same material, embedded carefully in the victim's wrists and ankles?", Ducky said and looked at the younger agent, who seemed to frown once more.

"In his wrists and ankles?", Gibbs asked and looked closer at the skin on the victim's right wrist.

"I didn't find them at first, because of the condition of the skin… but small puncture marks revealed their existence. Plus the x-ray", Ducky said and smiled a little as he bent over the body:

"You really are an unlucky fellow, aren't you?", he said to the body and looked at Palmer who simply shrugged.

"So they were planted there?", Gibbs asked as he looked into the bowl with the four rather large splinters. Ducky nodded:

"Yes, just before he died I presume. It seems like some sort of symbolic crucifixion", Ducky said and shrugged. Suddenly Gibbs' phone rang again and he picked it up:

"Gibbs", he said and his eyes seemed to grow a little wider.

"I'll be right there!", he said and closed the phone. He looked shortly at Ducky:

"Thanks – keep looking for DNA and send those splinters to Abby", Gibbs said as he ran to the elevator and headed for the office.

**THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 6.00 PM**

"I can't believe it", Tony said and everyone nodded just as Gibbs arrived at the office.

"Where is it?", Gibbs asked and Tony pointed to a desk. Gibbs looked down at the envelope lying there – it was addressed to him, again written in blood. And no return address. He immediately pulled on some rubber gloves and grabbed a pair of tweezers from his inner pocket and lifted up the envelope. It was light, almost as if it was empty. But of course it wasn't. Carefully Gibbs started opening the envelope and again everyone drew back a little. And out he pulled a single piece of cut out, white paper – and now all of the agents gathered around him as he turned it around for them to read. Again it was cut out letters glued onto the paper. It read:

* * *

**THERE'S A CLUE  
ON LAKE AVENUE  
IN THE PARK  
HE LOST HIS SPARK**

**-The gamer**

* * *

"What is this, a treasure hunt?", Tony joked and Gibbs looked at him – Tony's facial expression quickly turned from a grin to serious and he cleared his throat, acting like the ceiling was suddenly very interesting.

"More like a new crime scene. He's giving us another body", Gibbs said thoughtfully.

"Or he's just taunting us", Ziva said and looked at Gibbs, who shook his head:

"Maybe both… but none the less we have to go. McGee, track that damn letter and hand it over to Abby. Ziva, go visit the wife and check for any signs of surveillance or footprints in the flower bed – whatever you can think of. The killer might have been there earlier today. DiNozzo, you're coming with me", Gibbs said and as they headed for the door, Tony childishly stuck out his tongue at the two agents with a big grin. Finally something exciting to do.

**THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 6.20 PM**

Tony and Gibbs headed for the parking lot in a fast pace and suddenly Gibbs threw the keys to Tony, who in his surprise barely managed to catch them.

"This time YOU're driving", Gibbs just said and sent Tony a little skew smile. Tony almost stopped dead in his tracks:

"What have I done to deserve this, boss? It's just like Sherlock Holmes and Watson in that old movie – it's this awesome scene where…", Tony started, but Gibbs cut him off:

"Don't make me regret my decision, DiNozzo!", he spat and opened the car door when Tony unlocked it.

"Sure won't, boss. Shutting up", he said as he got behind the wheel and drove out of the parking lot.  
It only took them about ten minutes to reach Lake Avenue – there was only one park here, and it wasn't really that big. So finding something suspicious wouldn't take too long hopefully. As the two agents got out of the car, Gibbs leaned over the roof of the car:

"Be careful. We don't know who we're dealing with yet", he said and entered the park gate from the sidewalk where they had parked. Tony looked around a bit, scanning the nearest roof tops and shady places… but everything seemed to be clear. He then followed his boss into the lawns of the park. There were a lot of old and tall trees, but also smaller ones along with shrubbery here and there. Walking on a gravel path, Tony looked at Gibbs:

"How are we supposed to find it?", he asked and looked around. They could actually see the fence on the other side of the park… they just had to search, but still it could take hours.

"We don't know how old this body might be, but look for newly dug up dirt", Gibbs said and added:

"You go left, I go right"

"Yes, boss", Tony replied and they split up. All of the time they could see each other, walking around, almost sniffing the air like bloodhounds. Half an hour went by… and in the cold weather, Tony sat himself down for a minute on a bench by a tree. Rubbing his arms through the thick coat in the blistering cold he looked around to see Gibbs. However he couldn't quite spot him by the opposite fence. Narrowing his eyes, Tony scouted for him.

"Having a break there?", Gibbs voice suddenly said right next to him. Tony let out a surprised yelp and jumped up from the bench:

"Not anymore, Boss…!", he gasped and looked at Gibbs who didn't look at all pleased.

"Well, you better not!", Gibbs said harshly and Tony immediately shook his head:

"Won't happen again, boss! Sorry, Boss!", he said and looked at Gibbs, who seemed to stare at something right next to DiNozzo.

"What's that?", Gibbs said and lowered his head a little, staring into the shrubbery by the bench. Tony turned his head and looked – something yellowish seemed to stick up between the thorny twigs of the shrubbery. Carefully Gibbs walked over and gently spread the twigs… it was a hand… in a pretty bad condition. The tissue was decomposed and the smell immediately started to spread.

"Bingo", Gibbs just said and looked back at Tony, who wrinkled his nose at the smell:

"And I thought it was me. Need a hand?", Tony joked, but at the same time his cell phone rang. Picking it up he said:

"Special Agent DiNozzo"

Gibbs was already carefully uncovering the body, which seemed to be whole… it had simply been half-buried in the thick shrubbery. Unbelievable that it hadn't been found earlier, but no one ever really came here anyway. Neither did any kind of gardener – or at least that's what it looked like. Plus, in the winter a body could almost be preserved by the cold and not give out too strong of a smell.

"Umm, boss?", Tony said and Gibbs looked at him as Tony covered the phone with his hand:

"It's Alexis Carpenter from the club. She says, she has some information, but she's afraid to talk over the phone. That she might be heard. She's in the club", Tony said and Gibbs nodded:

"Arrange it. I can handle this", Gibbs said and Tony held the phone to his ear again:

"Are you alright??", Tony asked.

"_I'm not sure… I'm scared_", Alexis replied in the other end of the line.

"I'll be there in ten, just act like you usually do", Tony advised.

"_I'll try_", Alexis said and hung up. Tony shut the phone and put it in his pocket:

"Have to go, boss!", he said and ran to the car, almost slipping on the icy concrete of the sidewalk.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

**THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 7.30 PM**

Ziva drove up Cypress Lane and parked by the house belonging to Norma Phillips. It was quite a nice house, all white, with a broad porch going almost all the way around it. The garden was well kept, and lots of half-dead flowers were standing in their beds, heads sagging in the cold. The trees actually had ice taps hanging from them, same with the drainpipes. Carefully Ziva knocked at the door. From inside she could hear footsteps, and immediately her hand rested by her hip where her gun was strapped. Norma opened the door slightly and peeked out, freezing for a moment in her tracks:

"Agent David… Hello…", she said sadly and opened the door fully. Ziva forced a smile and stepped inside:

"Hello Miss Phillips… I need to ask a few more questions, would that be alright?", she asked and looked at the woman's teary eyes. She looked like she hadn't done anything but crying since they were there earlier today. Which was clearly understandable.

"Alright… Shawn, my son, is at my parents' house… Come on in", Norma said and gestured weakly for Ziva to enter the living room. Ziva couldn't help but look around investigating everything she saw.

"Thank you", she said as she lightly leaned one hand on the dinner table. It was a polished oak table… had to be expensive, Ziva thought. Her eyes scanned everything from the floor panels to the ceiling:

"Miss Phillips, how did your husband act before he disappeared?", she asked and tilted her head a bit as she looked at the widow, who was wearing nothing but a pale pink bath robe. Norma looked at her, like she was really thinking hard:

"He acted as he normally did… I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary…", she said as she caressed the golden frame of a family photograph standing on a shelf. Ziva looked at the picture:

"That's beautiful… Is it Disney World?", she asked in a kind voice, and Norma merely nodded as the corners of her mouth started to twitch a little. Ziva laid her hand on Norma's shoulder:

"I understand your grief… But I have to ask one more question", she said and looked at Norma, who nodded silently.

"Did you ever feel watched? Did you have any sort of feeling or evidence of being under surveillance?", she asked and Norma just stared at her:

"No… No, agent David… none what so ever", she said and looked at the picture again as if she was dreaming of that time in Disney World. Ziva nodded:

"Do you mind if I take a look around?", she asked and Norma shook her head:

"Go ahead…", she just said in a vague voice, still staring at the photo as if she was far away dreaming of the past.

"Thank you", Ziva said and started towards the staircase leading up to Shawn's room and the rest of the house.

**

After searching the house thoroughly, Ziva didn't find any sort of surveillance equipment other than a baby monitor in Shawn's room hooked up to a receiver in Norma's bedroom downstairs. Sighing she walked out of the bathroom on the first floor and headed down the stairs, where Norma was standing, just staring at the wall. Ziva looked at her and she looked up:

"Did you find anything?", Norma asked and looked worried. Ziva shook her head:

"No, I didn't… There is no evidence of your home being tapped", she said and smiled as good as she could. Norma just looked almost as if she didn't care. But Ziva understood – this couldn't be easy for her.

"Before I leave, I would like to check the outside of the house. Would that be okay?", Ziva asked and Norma just gestured for her to do whatever she wanted to do.

"I am truly sorry", Ziva said as she walked out the front door, which Norma opened for her. The widow nodded and forced half a smile to the female agent before closing the door.

Ziva walked around the house, on the porch, and checked for anything she could think of. However there was nothing. The porch went all the way around the house except for one place, right next to the front door. There was a small window to the hallway inside, and as Ziva looked down into the dead flower bed she noticed something – a sort of scraping of the almost frozen muddy soil. Immediately she squatted and looked closer:

"Asir Todah", she burst out, which in Hebrew means 'ever so grateful'**.** Because what she was looking at was almost a perfect footprint. It looked like some sort of sports shoe. Immediately she picked up her cell phone and rang Gibbs:

_"Gibbs"_

_"I found a footprint, boss"_

_"That's good work, agent David. I'll send someone for you in a few"_

_"Thanks, boss"_

_"No problem. Take care, Ziva"_

Gibbs then hung up and Ziva smiled. It had been a long time since her boss had ever called her by her first name.

**  
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 7.30 PM**

Tony drove up 12th street and stopped the car right in front of the club Daisy's. Quickly he was out of the car and walked down the steps to the club and the green door. Knocking on the door, Olga opened it and looked him up and down:

"What do you want this time?", she asked and Tony sent her a smirk:

"Can't a regular visit his favorite club?", he asked and raised one of his eyebrows jokingly. Olga merely snorted:

"Hah, you are not the type… but cute still", she said and eyed Tony as he passed her in the doorway. It kind of sent chills down his spine for a moment. Tony quickly scanned his surroundings as he walked towards the counter – however Alexis wasn't there. There were some rummaging about in the room behind the counter, and Tony carefully slid some red curtains aside to have a peek into the backroom. It was Clarence Buchanan, the owner. He seemed to be looking for something, because he was knocking over boxes and moving chairs and tables. Tony let the curtains fall and turned his head towards Olga:

"Where's Alexis?", he asked and Olga shrugged:

"She said she wasn't feeling well, she's in the bathroom. She is always so silly", she said in her thick Ukrainian accent.

"I bet…", Tony just said as he headed for the bathroom at the end of the hallway. It was pretty easy to find, because it said 'TOILET' on the door. Carefully he knocked on the peeling paint on the wooden door. There was no response, so he leaned against the door a little:

"Miss Carpenter, it's me, agent DiNozzo", he said and waited. A few seconds passed, but then he heard how the door was unlocked slowly from the inside. Opening the door just a bit Alexis peeked out and up at Tony. She looked pale and almost as if she had been crying or throwing up.

"What's wrong?", Tony asked and Alexis eyes seemed to flicker from Olga to the backroom. Tony looked at little incomprehensive, but Alexis all of a sudden silently walked out from the toilet and hugged him. Tony completely froze, but then Alexis whispered in his ear:

"Can't talk here, get me out", she whispered and stood back down on her feet. She had to stand on her toes in order to whisper in his ear. He looked at her panicky eyes in the red light from the lava lamp and nodded. He then turned his head to Olga on the staircase and said:

"I have to take Miss Carpenter to the station, she's a suspect in this case. Please inform Mr Buchanan, thank you", he said as he grabbed a hold of Alexis' arm to lead her to the car. She nearly jumped by his touch. Olga looked rather shocked, but they lost sight of her as they walked out the door and up onto the pavement. Tony guided Alexis to the car and they got in. It was like Alexis' eyes were glued to the green basement door as Tony drove off.

****

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 7.50 PM

Abby was sitting by her desk for a change, just staring at the note with the uncracked poem. There HAD to be a code somewhere, she just knew it. But where??? Her eyes focused on the letters again, which read:

**  


* * *

**

**ALL BLOOD SHALL DRY  
NORMA'S SILLY CRY  
TICKS ME GLAD ASLEEP  
HIS HONOR I KEEP  
ON MY MANTEL PIECE  
NEVER SHALL I CEASE  
YOUR HEARTS SHALL FREEZE**

**- The Gamer**

* * *

She couldn't let Gibbs down, she just couldn't. She had run the text through every code program that she knew. But no results. At least none that made any sort of sense. Abby tried to focus harder as she sucked the Caf-Pow through her straw. It had to be right under her nose… as she massaged her temples to the loud guitar solo of Scar Symmetry's 'The Illusionist' she suddenly got an idea – what if it wasn't so complex? Just like when you can't get a math piece to make sense, you just have to think simple. Narrowing her eyes she stared at the paper… and with a gasp she grabbed her cell phone and almost dropped it on the floor as she feverishly dialed Gibbs' number. The phone rang… one… two… three… and Abby pleaded:

"Please, Gibbs, pick it up…!", she whispered and finally he picked up:

"Gibbs", was the short greeting, and Abby immediately yelled:

"Tony! The killer's after Tony!", she yelled and there was silence for about two seconds:

"What? What do you mean, Abs?", Gibbs replied at the other end of the line. Abby felt herself shaking as she pressed the phone to her pierced ear:

"The poem, I cracked the poem!! Which wasn't a poem, but a threat, just like he said!", Abby yelped and Gibbs retorted:

"Speak to me", he just said and Abby picked up the note, glancing down on it:

"There was no complex code, it's an acrostic, Gibbs!", she said, but was cut off:

"The point, Abs!!", Gibbs demanded and Abby replied:

"A kind of poetry where only the front letters matter and must be read from above and down! It reads 'ANTHONY'!", she said in an almost shivering voice and there was silence in the end of the line.

"Gibbs?", Abby said in a concerned voice.

"I'm on it!", Gibbs said and hung up.

Abby sat frozen in her chair and stared at the note…

"Tony…", she whispered under her breath.

****

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 7.50 PM

A few blocks further down from Daisy's Tony stopped the car and looked at Alexis:

"What's going on, Miss Carpenter?", he asked with a concerned expression on his tanned face. She sucked in a mouthful of air and looked at him, almost like she was scared of him:

"I heard something…", she said and placed her head in her hands, shoulders starting to tremble. Tony immediately placed a hand on her left shoulder and tried to get her to calm down:

"Easy, easy… what did you hear??", he asked in a soft voice and finally she looked at him again:

"I heard Olga talk about something as she was cleaning.. it was like she was singing…", Alexis managed to say before she started crying. Tony was utterly confused:

"What did she say?", he asked and rubbed her shoulder. Alexis' sobs became a little louder:

"That she… she killed… a man…. and many… more… something about a park and… and… I can't", she sobbed and covered her face again. Tony was puzzled, why on earth would someone go around singing about their murders? AND in front of others. Something didn't add up.

"What is it that you can't??", he asked.

"It was horrible…! So evil… she sang about all the details and what she did to those men… but she doesn't know that I know Russian… so I could understand most of what she said, but if she finds out, she'll, she'll… kill me!!", Alexis cried and Tony's eyebrows shot up:

"You know Russian??", he asked flabbergasted.

"Yes, my grandfather immigrated from Russia", she said. Tony swallowed:

"Well, then I have to get her and then we can go to the station and…", Tony began, but she cut him off:

"No!! No, don't do that! She'll kill me…!", she gasped and twisted her hands.

"But I have to", Tony said and looked at the mess of a woman in front of him. Her make-up had run down her pale face, and her eyes were all red…

"But I was the only one who heard it… you can't arrest her for that, can you??", Alexis asked in a concerned voice and looked at Tony pleadingly. Tony looked at her:

"No, I can't. But I need to take her in for questioning and get a warrant for the club", Tony said. Alexis just stared at him:

"But what about me?? She will kill me, Agent DiNozzo! I can't go back there. I can't even go home, she knows my address!", she said and looked around as if she expected Olga to pop up anywhere. Tony grabbed a hold of her sholders, turned her slightly towards him and looked her deep in the eyes:

"Look, calm down. You're with me, nothing can happen to you. I will call my boss and then you will be put in the witness protection program and…", Tony said, but was cut off by his cell phone ringing. He looked at the display – it said 'Gibbs'.

"What a coincidence", he said and was about to flip up the phone and put it to his ear when something cold was pressed against his temple. His eyes immediately darted to Alexis on the passenger seat.

"Pick it up and be dead", Alexis simply said in a flat, cold voice. Tony looked at her with a shocked expression… then slowly put down the phone by the gearshift. It kept ringing. Alexis was looking at him with a piercing stare:

"Now start the engine and get moving", she ordered and Tony blinked a couple of times:

"So it's you…", he said and wanted to smack himself senseless for not realizing this earlier. Alexis didn't flinch:

"Bingo…", she just said and pressed the cold steel of the Beretta harder against his temple. Tony swallowed:

"Where are we going?", he asked and a little smile appeared on Alexis' lips:

"54th street… Now step on it!", she almost hissed and Tony reluctantly turned the key and put the car into gear.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

**THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 8.10 PM**

Tony was staring at Alexis, who simply tilted her head a little to the side and sent him a fake smile:

"And open the window… Keep your hands where I can see them!", she said and Tony couldn't help but let out a snort, but he did as he was told. The Beretta pressing against his right temple definitely wasn't a very comfortable feeling and there was no way he could grab his gun and shoot her before SHE shot HIM. His mind was racing, but he had to comply. This lady was serious. He could see by the look in her green eyes that she just didn't give a damn… Slowly Tony rolled down the window and carefully placed his hands on the wheel again. Alexis nodded:

"Good boy. Now take your gun and drop it out the window… SLOWLY", she ordered and Tony swallowed. Without his gun… Well, he WAS a lot stronger than her, but still… 'a gun beats muscles', Tony thought. Alexis immediately sensed his hesitation:

"NOW… Anthony", she said in that flat, monotone voice which sent shivers down his spine. He then looked at her shortly, not moving his head an inch:

"How do you know my name's Anthony?", he asked and goose bumps started to form on his arms just by the sight of the insanity in her emerald eyes. On his card, which he had given her earlier, it only read his title and last name… Alexis smiled a weird smile:

"Oh, you will know soon enough. Now NO MORE stalling. Drop the fucking gun or I'll blow your head clean off!", she hissed and pressed the Beretta even harder against his temple, causing him to flinch just a tiny bit from the smarting sensation on his skin.

"Alright… easy…", Tony said reluctantly and slowly he reached for his gun by his hip. He could feel how Alexis' gaze seemed to pierce his hand and its every move. He had to do it. And carefully he pulled his gun out of the holster between two fingers and reached it out through the window. Closing his eyes for a couple of seconds wondering how the hell he had got himself into this situation – he dropped the gun. A metallic 'clunk' was heard as it hit the asphalt on 12th street.

"Wise choice", Alexis just said and grabbed his cell phone by the gearshift, sticking it in her pocket.

"I'll take care of that. Now DRIVE!", she commanded and Tony forced his foot to tread down on the speeder. Soon they were driving through countless calm neighborhoods, away from most of the traffic, and 12th street was far behind them. Tony's mind raced to come up with a solution to this trouble he had got himself into. However for the moment his brain seemed to be frozen over.

**  
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 8.10 PM**

Gibbs was still standing in the park on Lake Avenue, clinging to his cell phone as it rang. He knew that Tony had to be at Daisy's or somewhere near there…

"Tony, pick up…!", Gibbs spoke harshly into the phone, almost as if he thought Tony could hear him. But the phone just kept ringing until it shifted to voice mail.

"Shit!", Gibbs burst out and interrupted the call, dialing a new number – Ziva. She quickly picked it up:

"Agent David, hi boss", she said in a cheerful voice.

"He's got Tony", Gibbs said and the other line went silent. Gibbs continued:

"Get your ass to Daisy's on 12th street, you're the closest one there!", he said.

"What?? I'm on it boss, but who am I looking for??! Who's got Tony??!", she asked confusedly.

"We don't know yet. He's driving my car, look for it, any leads that might take us to where he is! Ask in the club, anything!", Gibbs ordered and rubbed his forehead, sighing:

"Get him back, Ziva", he said and hung up.

Gibbs immediately turned away from the new crime scene and headed for the gate, which led out to Lake Avenue. At the same time Ducky entered from the street and the two colleagues almost bumped into each other, skidding on the icy pavement.

"What is the hurry, Jethro?", Ducky asked and looked the younger man up and down. Gibbs grabbed a hold of Ducky's shoulders:

"Give me your car keys!", Gibbs just said, but Ducky shook his head:

"It's a forensic's van and we need it. But you can take Palmer's. What is going on, my friend?", he asked in a concerned voice, and Gibbs clapped him on the shoulder as he hurried to the other side of the street, looking over his shoulder at Dr Mallard:

"The killer's got Tony!", he yelled and watched the old man's face turn a shade paler as his mouth dropped open in shock. Palmer had just stepped out of his red Ford Fiesta when Gibbs snatched the keys out of his hand, tore open the door and got in the car – Palmer looked completely confused as Gibbs turned the key:

"Thanks!", he just said as he put the pedal to the metal, burning a bit of rubber as the car bolted forwards and away, down Lake Avenue.  
Gibbs opened his cell phone again and dialed McGee's number:

"Hello boss", McGee greeted.

"The killer has Tony", Gibbs said and for a few seconds there was a shocked silence.

"Are you serious, sir?", McGee said and sounded completely flabbergasted. Gibbs sighed irritated:

"YES, McGee! I'm serious! Now get in the car and go to Daisy's on 12th street and help Ziva out, she's already on her way. Bring the warrant you got earlier! Find him, McGee!! GO!",  
Gibbs said and took the phone away from his ear, just hearing McGee's 'YES, boss!' before hanging up and dialing Abby's number as he was racing towards 12th street:

"Hi Gibbs!", Abby said enthusiastically and continued:

"It's really weird, because I was just about to call YOU and then you….", she started, but Gibbs cut her off:

"The killer's got Tony", Gibbs said once more and Abby immediately burst out:

"WHAT!!", she yelped, and her boss continued:

"I need all the lab results, now!", Gibbs said.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…!", Abby began, but Gibbs yelled into the phone:

"Abs, TALK TO ME!", he ordered and he could hear her gasping in panic. Two seconds passed, but then she seemed to regain her cool:

"I analyzed the splinters and they are the same material as the fibers we found on Joe Phillips' clothes! The tree _Clethra Acuminata_, the Cinnamon Clethra tree! And I analyzed the letter, the paper is still the local newspaper and Penthouse, but the blood on the envelope doesn't match Joe Phillips! So I ran it through the Navy's database and it matches a Colonel Thomas Hannigan, missing from his home here in DC since December 3rd! Oh my god, Gibbs, who's the killer, what are we gonna do…!", Abby almost cried in the phone and Gibbs shushed her:

"We're doing anything we can to find him – just keep analyzing, Abs! Find out what links that damn tree with this case, and we got the killer! Ziva found a footprint at Miss Phillips' house, analyze it – the cast will be there shortly. I will personally pull the shoes of every single one involved in this case for you to match!", Gibbs said as he turned the corner to 12th street. Ziva's and McGee's cars were there already.

"Please find Tony, Gibbs…!", Abby pleaded and Gibbs swallowed:

" I will, Abs, I will!", he said and then hung up.

**  
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 8.30 PM**

Tony's knuckles were almost white as he squeezed the wheel, driving up 54th street while Alexis' Beretta was pointed at him, just far enough down for pedestrians and other drivers not to see it. His eyes scanned everything they passed – he hadn't been here before, but he had memorized the route perfectly. Alexis was smiling at him the whole time, but not a very pleasant smile.

"Turn left here", Alexis suddenly said and Tony slowed down the car. He had thought about just crashing the car into something, but of course Alexis had put on her seat belt as she got in the car… he was the only one without one. Tony looked to his left and there was an alley leading down through some apartment complexes. It seemed pretty damp and gloomy with only grey concrete and broken drainpipes to be seen. Slowly he turned the car and drove down the alley… there wasn't much traffic on 54th street at this hour, so he didn't have to wait for anyone to pass before he could turn. 'Dammit', Tony thought to himself as the car made its way down the dark alley. The sun had set about an hour ago and everything was turning completely dark in the cold city. As they turned a narrow corner, Tony spotted a small parking lot. Only one of the lamp posts were working, the rest of them had either gone out or were blinking in small pulses of synthetic, orange light.

"Park here", Alexis said and Tony stopped the car just next to a green Dodge van. As the engine died, Alexis turned on the light in the car in one swift movement. Looking at Tony her smile seemed to disappear:

"Throw me the keys", she just said and Tony slowly pulled the key out, dangled the bundle of keys in front of her to see and then carefully threw the bundle at her. It landed in her lap and she quickly snatched them and opened her door with the same hand. The gun never left its position, pointing at Tony's chest.

"Now when I tell you to, you step out of the car", Alexis said and slowly got out of the passenger seat, keeping the gun pointed at Tony, and closed the door silently. She then walked around the car and almost up to Tony's door:

"Open the door slowly and get out, your hands visible", she ordered as she pointed her gun at the window. Inside the car Tony let out little groan, but slowly opened the door and got out, keeping both of his hands visible – just as she had said. Again his mind was spinning to figure out some sort of retaliation. She then used her free hand to wave at him to walk towards her. The car keys were already in her pocket. As Tony walked towards her, she backed until they reached a door next to some rusty fire escape stairs.

"Open the door and go to the right", Alexis instructed as her eyes seemed to blaze in the dim light.

"Where are we?", Tony asked as he slowly started to reach out for the door just to keep moving. He didn't want to enrage her even more and his eyes couldn't help but rest on the glistening steel of the Beretta pointed at him. Alexis let out a little laugh:

"Home", she said and waved at him to move faster. Tony had to turn the handle – and the door opened… a grey concrete staircase let upwards and there were several mailboxes by the wall. Tony's eyes immediately scanned the names in the limited light, but no names seemed to pop out. Reluctantly he turned to the right, keeping his hands visible at all times. Another staircase led to a basement. 'Shit', Tony thought.

"You know, this is a lot like a movie. Ever seen '8 mm'?", he asked as he again thought of every possible counter attack… but he could think of none that wouldn't get him killed in a split second. Alexis snorted behind him:

"Yeah, pretty good movie, now shut the fuck up and go to the end of the hallway", she said, and Tony cringed a bit as he felt the mouth of the Beretta now pressing against his back, just between his tense shoulder blades. Too quick they reached the back of the basement and there was only one door, away from the storage rooms.

"Open it and walk inside", Alexis said and Tony turned the door knob. The door opened and they walked inside. Tony's eyebrows immediately shot up – the room was completely painted white, there were plastic bottles with ammoniac on a table, a bed and a chest of drawers by the wall. The room was medium size and it had no windows… pipes were all over the ceiling, some strip lights along with a thick metal loop, which had been attached to the ceiling with big screws – a set of handcuffs dangling from it. Again Tony's mind was desperately trying to find some way to get the gun away from Alexis, but…

"Chain yourself to the hook", Alexis suddenly said and Tony seemed to freeze. But a push from the gun between his shoulder blades seemed to wake him up. Tony blinked a few times… this just couldn't be happening! Slowly, with his hands now in the air, he turned towards Alexis:

"You can't be serious…", Tony said and looked at his kidnapper. Alexis didn't flinch:

"I'm dead serious Anthony", she said and waved at him to do it, but added:

"And take your coat off", she said. Tony frowned and looked at her:

"You really think you can get away with this?", Tony asked and backed up a bit as she walked towards him, pointing the gun straight at his face:

"That's really none of your business. Now take the coat off and CHAIN YOURSELF TO THE FUCKING HOOK!", she almost growled, her green eyes sparkling with anger. With a racing mind Tony complied, slowly taking his black wool coat off, dropping it to the floor. He could feel how Alexis studied him as he stood there in his white shirt and black pants.

"Alexis, this can be worked out...", Tony started, but Alexis immediately let out a snarl:

"No, it can't, Anthony! Cuff yourself... NOW!", she demanded, and slowly Tony reached up and closed the handcuffs around his wrists. Now he was in trouble… unless…

"Tighter!", Alexis said. 'Shit', Tony thought… that was the end of that idea. As he tightened the cuffs more, Alexis suddenly walked up to him, making their bodies touch – and she grabbed a hold of his hair, pulling his head backwards as she placed the gun under his chin:

"Don't play games with me, DiNozzo!", she hissed and Anthony squeezed his eyes shut:

"I'm not..!", he managed to say, disgusted with the feeling of her body against his.

"Besides you're the gamer", he added and felt how his hair was pulled a little harder.

"Damn right", Alexis said and then reached up with her free hand and tightened the cuffs even more, making the metal gnaw into his skin. Finally she removed the gun and put it on the chest of drawers, looking at Tony. She couldn't help but study his tanned face, the perfect, almost chiseled line of his jaw and what body had to be hiding under those clothes. Tony felt her stare and a shiver ran through him. He just couldn't believe that he hadn't figured it out before...

"So how do you know my name?", he asked and Alexis smiled almost sweetly at him, letting out a small sigh as if she was about to tell a kid a story:

"Remember Aaron, Anthony?", she asked in a suddenly cold voice and walked up to him again, looking up at his face. She was some inches shorter than Tony, and he was standing on the tip of his toes in order not to place too much weight on his cuffed wrists.

"Aaron who?", Tony asked and looked confused, but in the same second Alexis grabbed a hold of his throat, almost squeezing shut his air pipe, making him squeeze his eyes shut:

"AARON, you fucking asshole!!", she hissed and let go of Tony, who coughed and sucked in big mouthfuls of air. Tony managed to looked at her, as he was thinking like crazy – Aaron, Aaron, he knew many Aarons!

"Nevermind... but trust me, you WILL remember", she said silently and walked to the chest of drawers behind him. He could hear her rummaging about for something and he tried to have a look, but his arm was in the way, and he couldn't turn around without breaking his wrists.

"So... This is some sort of personal vendetta? What did the other guys do?", Tony asked hoarsely and heard a small, irritated chuckle behind him, but no answer. All of a sudden Tony felt her hands on his sides and he froze in surprise as her hands started to slide down towards his belt. Alexis smiled to herself as she felt the warmth and hardness of his body under the soft fabric of his shirt.

"What are you doing..?", Tony asked, even though he pretty much knew.

"Well, as they say... keep your friends close, but your enemies closer...", Alexis said and Tony could feel her warm breath hit the lower part of the back of his neck.

"Mm, is that Light Blue?", Alexis asked as she sniffed the side of Tony's neck and he cringed:

"Yes...", he just said. How did she know that he was wearing Dolce & Gabbana? But before he could think about it further, she felt one of her hands squeeze his right buttock. He jumped a little.

"Aww, are you nervous?", Alexis teased as she massaged his buttock in a knedding, circular motion. Tony closed his eyes:

"Don't touch me", he just said, but she merely laughed:

"Playing hard to get, are we? Who was it that invited ME out?", she chuckled and he felt like the biggest idiot ever. He thought of kicking her, but that would only result in her getting a bruise and him getting killed...

"Now you're gonna feel a little sting...", she said and Tony's eyes shot open:

"What??", he burst out as she leaned against him, whispering in his ear just as she did back at Daisy's:

"Or would you rather drink it?", she asked and patted his buttock.

"Drink what??", Tony asked, starting to feel a bit panicky. Alexis laughed again and held out something in front of his face. As Tony's eyes adjusted to the short distance, he discovered – to his horror – that it was a syringe. Immediately his eyes grew wide:

"No...", he managed to say as the needle glistened in the white light from the strip lights in the ceiling.

**THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 8.30 PM**

"What have you got??", Gibbs asked as he jumped out of Parker's red Ford Fiesta and looked at Ziva and McGee who were standing on the road, both with flash lights. Ziva held up a bag with a gun in it:

"Tony's gun, boss. It hasn't been fired... I think they drove east", she said. Gibbs just looked at her:

"Don't think, KNOW!", he demanded and then looked at McGee, who seemed rather uncomfortable by his boss' piercing gaze:

"I... I just got here", McGee stammered and Gibbs let out a loud sigh:

"Then what are we waiting for?? Ziva, McGee – search the street for any evidence, I go in the club! Gimme the warrant!", he said and grabbed the paper from McGee's hand as he headed down the stairs and hammered on the big, green door. As usual Olga opened the door and peeked out at him, as he held his badge and the warrant up for her to see.

"Ah, agent Gibbs... What now?", she said and opened the door just as Gibbs made his way through the narrow opening, not taking his eyes off her:

"Was agent DiNozzo here a short while ago?", Gibbs asked and Olga nodded.

"Who did he talk to and where did he go?", Gibbs asked as he looked at Olga suspiciously. The brunette tilted her her:

"What, is he not at the station?", Olga just asked dumbfounded and Gibbs felt the anger rise inside him:

"NO, he isn't! Now answer the damn question, Miss Pavlona!", he said angrily and Olga blinked a few times in surprise:

"Well, he said that she was a suspect and that he would take her to the station...", Olga started, and Gibbs immediately stepped closer to her, staring down at her with his typical investigating stare:

"WHO?", he asked. Olga looked almost scared:

"Well, Alexis...", she said nervously and Gibbs smacked his fist into the door frame, making Olga jump in surprise. Why the hell hadn't he known?? Tony had gone straight into the lion's cave... and alone. And Gibbs had let him.

"Dammit", Gibbs murmured under his breath. Then he seemed to calm down a little:

"In what direction did they drive?", he asked and Olga pointed to the right. Which was East.

"Show me where she keeps her things", Gibbs said as he dialed Abby's number:

**

"Have you got him, have you got Tony??", Abby's voice immediately asked. Gibbs let out a small sigh:

"No, but we know who does... Look up an Alexis Carpenter", he said and immediately he could hear her typing in the other end of the line.

"It's a SHE?", Abby asked as she entered several databases on her screen.

"This is creeping me out, Gibbs", Abby said as she pushed ENTER.

"I've got a match! In the... national archive... she doesn't have a record", she said and sounded a bit confused:

"She has a hidden number, but you can look her up in an address book, Gibbs! Maybe it's a ghost?", she said and Gibbs shook his head. He had a gut feeling that it might be a little bit of both.

"What's the address, Abs?", he asked, and she immediately answered:

"Hills Lane 124!", Abby said and continued:

"Oh god, I hope that Tony isn't.. that she doesn't... that he.... You have to get him back, Gibbs!", she started, but Gibbs murmured:

"That's west of here...", he just said and the line went silent.

"They headed east", Gibbs said as he was thinking.

"I'll call you back, Abs!", he said and hung up.  
In the other end Abby just stared at her phone for a few seconds and then started typing like crazy, trying to dig up anything on Alexis Carpenter.

**

Olga had led Gibbs up to a couple of lockers just by the staircase to the office.

"This is her locker", she said and stepped back as Gibbs grabbed his gun by the barrel, and knocked open the lock on the locker by smashing the shaft into the metal. With a couple of sparks and a loud metallic sound the door opened. Gibbs quickly scanned the contents as he put on his gloves... lots of litterature... drawings... Penthouse magazines and newspapers.... and in the bottom of the locker was a little jewelry box in silver. He immediately pulled it out and opened it – it contained a note. Gibbs unfolded the piece of white paper. It was yet a piece of paper plastered with cut out letters, which read:

* * *

**TOO LATE, NCIS  
15-1-B **

**- The Gamer  
**

* * *

Gibbs just stared at the paper. What the hell was this now? And he'd be damned it if was too late!! Enraged Gibbs ran up the stairs and out on the street, looking over his shoulder at Olga:

"Stay here", he just said and yelled for Ziva and McGee, who came rushing from each their end of 12th street. As they gathered around him, Tim pretty out of breath, Gibbs said:

"What is 15-1-B??", he asked as he showed them the note. Both of them looked puzzled. Gibbs looked at them:

"Come on!!!", he said, but there was no response. McGee lifted his head a bit and looked at Gibbs:

"Umm, maybe Abby can crack it...?", he just said and Gibbs sent him a piercing stare:

"I'll call her, you two – McGee, you bring in everyone in the club for their testimony statements, and Ziva, you come with me to Hills Lane 124", he almost barked and Ziva looked a little confused:

"But that's west of here", she said, and Gibbs turned his head to look at her:

"Yes, Ziva. It's west of here", he just said and headed for the red Ford Fiesta as he re-dialed Abby's number:

**

"Yes???", Abby said and lots of typing could be heard in the background.

"15-1-B", Gibbs said and added:

"What is it?", he asked and the line went silent. Even the typing seemed to stop.

"Abs?", Gibbs asked and finally she answered:

"That's... a grave", Abby just said and a shiver ran down Gibbs' spine.

"What?? How do you know??", Gibbs asked.

"Because my grandmother is buried at grave 28, path 6 section B on Oak Hill Cemetary, they are the only ones who use letters in their system in DC, I like to go there sometimes, especially during a full moon, oh god, has she buried him, is he alright, oh no, Gibbs...!", Abby began, but he cut her off:

"Great job, Abs!", he burst out.

"I will find him, I promise! You just hang tight and stay by the phone!", Gibbs said and hung up.

**

* * *

**PLEASE REVIEW AND I'LL BE HAPPY!!!**


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

**THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 9.00 PM**

"Don't!", Tony said as Alexis removed the syringe from the front of his face to somewhere behind him. Silence fell and Tony desperately, but silently tried to wriggle out of the cuffs – but they merely gnawed deeper into his skin, and he could feel something warm slowly trickle down his left under arm. Biting his lip he concentrated on hearing what she was up to... he could feel her staring at him, only inches away. Then her hand grabbed his buttock roughly – and he jumped.

"Aww, so cute... here comes the sting...", Alexis said, and something in Tony's mind seemed to trigger his survival instinct – and he started to squirm like crazy, kicking out at her the best he could. He just couldn't let her give him that injection, it would most likely kill him! He felt his heel hitting her hard, and she let out a small hiss. Before he knew it she had grabbed a hold of his hair, forcing his head backwards violently and she yelled in his ear:

"Is THAT the best you can do, Anthony??! HUH?? Is it?!", she snarled and again she grabbed a hold of his buttock, readying the syringe.

"Don't touch me, you bitch!!", Tony yelled and yanked his head forwards, not caring how much hair he got pulled out. She lost her grip, and immediately Tony tried to spin around – but he just wasn't able to because of the cuffs. And then it came... the sting. A smarting sensation spread from his buttock and Tony couldn't hold back a yelp of frustration and anger. She had buried the needle in the soft tissue of his buttock and injected the fluid...

"Why are you doing this?! Why?!!", Tony yelled and kept squirming. He had to get out of these cuffs and fast. But it was to no avail... none the less, he kept trying to force his hands through the tight cuffs, making drops of blood flow down his arms.

"Because I want you to suffer as much as he did", Alexis said in a flat voice as she moved to stand in front of him. Looking him up and down as he squirmed to free himself, she felt how her heart was racing in excitement. Finally everything would be set right.

"Who?!!", Tony yelled and pierced her with his furious gaze. Alexis put her hands on her hips:

"Aaron. Do you not remember Aaron?? Huh? I already told you once!", she yelled as her flat hand hit him hard across the face with the last word. His head swung to the side and when he turned his head back to look at her, a tiny trickle of blood slowly appeared in the corner of his mouth. She was already more than ready to finish him off... but she wanted more first. She wanted to humiliate him.. take away his dignity... everything he had.

"Aaron WHO!?", Tony spat and Alexis stared at him coldly. He had stopped squirming... which meant that the drugs were already getting to him.

"Aaron Peterson, dumbass!", she said and walked a little closer. He didn't know it quite yet, but he wouldn't even be able to kick her harder than a child could slap another child. Tony seemed to freeze for a moment... then it dawned on him:

"Aaron Peterson, the apprentice at Baltimore police station???", he asked completely confused. Alexis nodded as she walked in closer. She grabbed a hold of his lower jaw and looked him deep in the eyes:

"YOUR apprentice, Anthony. YOUR apprentice!", she said as she studied how the pieces of the puzzles started to fall into place in his mind.

"Joe Phillips...", Tony said and looked at her in amazement. He couldn't believe it. Why hadn't he recognized him back at the first crime scene? He HAD been distracted that day, but still... he felt like the biggest loser on the planet.

"Thomas Hannigan...?", Alexis said and Tony swallowed:

"Oh god...", he mumbled and noticed how his vision was starting to blur a little.

"You killed him too?", Tony asked and a smile spread on Alexis' pale face:

"Lake Avenue Park, remember?", she giggled and Tony closed his eyes... Gibbs hadn't had the opportunity to tell him the second victim's name. But NOW he knew...  
His chain of thought was interrupted as she stepped in close again, rubbing herself against him:

"Ready for a game?", she said in a voice, which Tony would normally find sexy – but NOT in this situation. She pushed her breasts against the lower part of his chest, grabbed something in her pocket and reached up for the cuffs. Tony frowned a bit as his mind seemed to be spinning. He felt tired... She almost couldn't reach the cuffs, and she held on to Tony's right shoulder in order to put the key in the lock for his right wrist. It smarted like hell as the metal dug into his skin under the weight of her upper body resting on his shoulder by her hand. She turned the key, and the handcuff popped open, freeing his bruised hand... and to his surprise it more or less just fell down along his side. Quicker than he thought she could she had unlocked the other cuff too, and he fell to the concrete floor, just barely managing to avoid hitting his head by taking most of the fall with his arms. Immediately he tried to get up, but when he was on his knees and elbows, he just didn't have the strength to go any further. Instead as he tried, he fell to the side...

"Feeling drowsy, are we?", Alexis grinned and looked down at him. As she squatted next to him, Tony turned his head:

"Why don't you just kill me then?", he asked in a slurred voice. She laughed.

"What's the rush, Anthony? You think I'm gonna make this easy for you?", she said and ran three fingers through his thick, dark hair. In disgust he jerked his head away from her.

"Fine, be like that. It only makes me want it more", she smiled and got up. Tony eyed the door, which was no more than a few feet away and he started slowly moving towards it. He hated how his body wouldn't obey his mind...

"What have you given me...?!", he mumbled and managed to get up on all fours. However a hard kick to the ribs sent him right back down with a groan. Placing her Dr Martins boot between his shoulder blades, Alexis completely pressed him to the ground.

"Oh, you'll find that out in a little while...", she said in low voice, almost unable to be heard. Trying to squirm away from under the weight of her boot, thoughts raced through Tony's mind – the police station, Aaron Peterson, Joe Phillips, Thomas Hannigan.... 'Where's Gibbs?', Tony thought just before everything went black.

**  
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 9.00 PM**

"Change of plans!", Gibbs yelled and both McGee and Ziva stopped dead in their tracks. McGee had reached the green door to Daisy's and Ziva had just opened her car door. Gibbs looked at them:

"Not you, McGee", he said and nodded at the young agent to continue.

"Yes, sir...!", McGee said and entered the club. Ziva looked at Gibbs:

"What's going on, boss?", she asked and looked at the older, grey-haired man:

"We're not going to Hills Lane 124", he just said and sent her a little smile. Ziva frowned:

"Why not, where ARE we going?", she asked and Gibbs sat down in the Ford's seat with the door open:

"Oak Hill Cemetary", he said and watched Ziva's puzzled expression:

"But we have to go to her address, it's...", she started, but Gibbs cut her off:

"No, we don't. Besides my gut tells me that it's a decoy... the cemetary lead is more important", Gibbs said and the female agent looked completely flabbergasted:

"More important than getting Tony back??", Ziva asked, but in a splitsecond Gibbs was standing inches from her face, his icy eyes blazing:

"NOTHING is more important than getting Tony back, and don't you EVER imply anything else!", Gibbs said in a low tone of voice as he eyed the young agent, who was hiding her intimidation pretty well:

"Sir, I wasn't implying that - I want Tony back as much as you do, I just think we should go to....", Ziva said, but again Gibbs butted in:

"And I think we should go to the cemetary! The address is bogus, I KNOW it... Right now Tony could be dying, and you want to waste time contradicting your senior officer??", Gibbs boomed and finally Ziva seemed to withdraw:

"Sorry, sir", she said and looked down.

"You better be. Now get in the damn car and follow me!", Gibbs said and got back in the red Ford, closed the door with a loud 'bang' and started the engine.

**

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the main gate to Oak Hill Cemetary, and Gibbs was the first to get out of the car, carrying a big flashlight. Closing the door he ran up to a big, dark-green sign with a map of the cemetary. Ziva was quickly beside him with her flashlight and watched as Gibbs planted his index finger on the map:

"There it is! 15-1-B!", he said, and Ziva nodded speculatively. This was a race against time, and they both knew it – whether they agreed on the scene or not. Quickly Gibbs opened the gate and looked to and fro at the many signs, reading them out in his mind – 'D, G, E, A...B!', Gibbs thought and started running down the broad trail that read 'Section B'. Ziva followed.

"Find path one!", he yelled at Ziva just as they ran by an older couple, who seemed rather startled. However they were completely ignored.

"Here, it's here!", Ziva yelled and Gibbs stopped, sliding a few inches across the gravel on his heels. Looking at a small sign sticking up on a steel rod in the ground, it read: "Path 1", and they continued to run down the much more narrow path with graves and trees and bushes on each side.

"Find grave number fifteen!", Gibbs ordered, and Ziva nodded:

"Yes boss", she said under her breath as they ran, pointing their flashlights on every number sticking up in front of the graves on small metal sticks. Time seemed to fly by...

"Fifteen!", Gibbs suddenly yelled somewhere in the dark, and immediately Ziva followed the cone of light from his flashlight, pointing at a gravestone cut in red marble. She joined him and they both stared at the grave – no fresh soil... Lighting up the gravestone Gibbs read out the name:

"Aaron Houseman Peterson... Born fifth of May 1974, died....", Gibbs fell silent, and Ziva completed his sentence:

"18th of February one year ago...", she said and looked at her senior officer:

"That's today...", she added and Gibbs merely nodded. With a frustrated sigh he took out his cell phone and called Abby:

**

"Gibbs?", Abby's voice said.

"Abs, look up an Aaron Houseman Peterson, he died exactly one year ago", Gibbs said, and he could instantly hear typing.

"Why are you looking for a dead guy?", Abby asked as she typed.

"Because he is a link to the killer, Abs... long story", Gibbs said.

"By the way, the body you found in lake Avenue Park has been ID'ed – his name is Thomas Hannigan and he was killed in exactly the same way, splinters and all and you know what is weird, it's that..... OH....", Abs suddenly said and fell silent. Gibbs frowned:

"Abs?", he said and heard some more typing.

"ABS!", Gibbs yelled and this time she seemed to return from her little bubble of whatever it was.

"Gibbs... Joe Phillips and Thomas Hannigan were in the same class in Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Section.... along with Aaron Peterson... and Tony...!", she burst out and Gibbs froze as he turned his head and looked at Ziva.

"Abs, look up Aaron Peterson's parents...", Gibbs said and again there was typing.

"Gibbs, it says nothing about this Aaron guy being murdered, I mean, why....", she started, but Gibbs just said:

"Gut feeling"

"Oh...", Abby said and nodded to herself.

"Got it! His father is passed away, but his mother's name is Margaret Houseman Peterson, Pine Road 78... Louisville, Kentucky", Abby said and Gibbs smiled:

"That's where the parcels came from, I need a phone number", Gibbs said and Abby immediately replied:

"1-502-805-0215", Abby said.

"Nice work, Abs!", Gibbs said and was about to hang up when Abby burst out:

"You know, Gibbs – Kentucky is just between southern Pennsylvania and northern Alabama...!", she said and Gibbs went silent for a moment:

"Yes? I don't need a geography lesson though, but....", he began, but this time HE was cut off:

"The _Clethra Acuminata_! The TREE, Gibbs, the Clethra cinnamon tree!", Abby said and Gibbs lit up in a smile:

"... I love you, Abs! Brilliant work! I owe you ten Caf-Pows!", Gibbs burst out and hung up the phone. Abby smiled as she sucked on her straw, yet her mind was all on Tony... 


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

**THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 9.25 PM**

Tony was feeling like he was floating on a cloud… but not a very pleasant one. His unconnected thoughts kept spinning and he had this uncomfortable knot in his stomach. A nauseating feeling that something wasn't right. From somewhere outside his 'bubble' he heard a 'smack' and felt something on the skin of his cheek. However he couldn't quite wake up…

"'Morning, sleepyhead", he heard a female voice say. Tony tried to open his eyes, but it felt like two weights of lead had been places on his eye lids. A chuckle could be heard from somewhere far away, even though it seemed very close.

"Anthony?", the female voice said. Tony struggled to open his eyes… and he managed to open them just a little, but everything was blurry as light filled his field of vision. Then the chuckle again. Something warm was apparently caressing his chest, but he couldn't place it… where was he?

"DiNozzo!!", the female voice suddenly boomed and this time he could actually feel the sting of what had to be a slap in the face. Had he drunk too much??? With a big effort Tony forced himself to defy the lead weights on his eye lids and tried to open his hazel eyes once more. This time he succeeded, and he noticed that everything around him was white… and white synthetic light was filling his eyes, almost blinding him. It seemed like strip lamp light. Something however was above him, blocking some of the sharp light… it kind of looked like a face. But he couldn't identify who it might be, because his vision was still all blurry.

"Had a nice nap?", her voice said and Tony turned his head to the side. He felt so tired… almost like after a Friday's night out. He noticed that his ribs hurt… had he been in a fight?

"Wake the fuck up!", the voice now said and he felt a hand grabbing a hold of his lower jaw and lifting his head up a bit. Trying to adjust his blurred vision Tony narrowed his eyes to look at the face above him. Slowly it became a little clearer.

"Who are you?", Tony mumbled at the smudged face above him. Again the chuckle. What was so funny?

"Where's Gibbs?", Tony said in a slurred voice, thinking about how Gibbs would yell at him for coming to work hung over.

"Not here yet", she said and suddenly a pair of lips were softly pressed against his. In his confused, sedated state Tony couldn't help but return the kiss… he must have scored last night. His vision started to correct itself and suddenly it all became sharp for him to see – his lips were pressed against someone with red hair and pale skin, no make-up. Surprised Tony stopped kissing whoever it was and she immediately leaned back a little… and her entire face came into view. So did the room. Tony blinked a few times.

"Where…?", he started and tried to sit up, but found that his hands were tied above his head. Confused he looked up – his wrists were tied with a rope to two heavy metal bed posts with lots of interlacing metal cords. And Tony noticed the almost dried blood on his under arms and wrists…

"What's going on??", he asked into the air and then turned his head back to look at the woman. Then it all came back.

"Oh…!"; Tony gasped under his breath as he looked at Alexis who sat next to him on the bed. Quickly he tried to kick up his legs – but they were somehow restrained and only the bed seemed to move. Looking down Tony realized that his ankles were also tied to two bed posts.

"Welcome back", Alexis smiled and looked down at him from her sitting position at the edge of the mattress. Feeling a little dizzy still he scanned his surroundings… the basement on 54th street. And he remembered the hook in the ceiling, how he had struggled… her hard boots kicking him in the ribs and forcing him to the ground.

"How're you feeling?", Alexis asked in an obviously fake concerned tone of voice. She sounded like a nurse. Tony glared at her:

"A lot better once I kill you", he just said and looked at her. She seemed to be amused and again she let out a chuckle. He wanted to strangle her…

"Kill me…? Oh, Anthony… You seem to talk the talk… but you certainly don't walk the walk. Just look at you!", she taunted and pulled his left wrist, emphasizing the fact that he was tied up and pretty helpless.

"It's pretty cute actually", she said and stroked his cheek. He turned his head away… Her hand was again placed on his chest and she caressed his nipples through the soft fabric of his white and stripy shirt. Tony immediately turned his head back:

"What do you want from me, Alexis?!", he hissed and looked up at her smiling face.

"Everything", was the short answer. Tony's stomach seemed to turn. He couldn't fight her… not in this state with his wrists and ankles tied. How he hated himself for this…

"But first I want you to tell me all about Aaron Peterson", she said and Tony blinked a few times. Why was she so interested in his apprentice in Baltimore..?

"How do you know him..?", Tony asked, but a hard slap across the face cut him off as his head was forced to the side by the blow. Slowly turning his head back with blood slowly running down in a small stream from his left nostril he just looked at her.

"I ask the questions. And now you answer", she ordered and Tony swallowed.

"Tell me about him", Alexis demanded and Tony looked at the ceiling with the strip lamps and thought back to his time in Baltimore. Tony had had a class with four apprentices in the Homicide Section… Thomas Hannigan, Joe Phillips, Aaron Peterson and Corey Davis… Wait, that was four!! Everybody in that class seemed to be dead… but what about Corey Davis?? Was there a fourth body? Tony's heart was racing – faster and harder than he liked. He looked at Alexis, but he didn't dare ask the question. Not yet anyway.

"Aaron was in my class in Baltimore… I was assigned to guide them through the basics in homicide investigations and then they would be judged by a committee in order to be hired as a police officer in the Homicide Section…", Tony explained and Alexis nodded. However her smile was gone.

"And you were supposed to put a word in for them, right?", Alexis asked.

"Yes", Tony answered and carefully licked the corner of his mouth which was smarting after the blow she had applied to it earlier when he was cuffed to the ceiling. The blood hadn't dried yet and the metallic taste of the iodine wasn't exactly comforting.

"What did you tell them about Aaron, Anthony?", Alexis asked and tilted her head a bit, her eyes narrowed. Tony blinked a few times… So this was where this was going… He let out a little sigh.

"That… he wasn't competent…", Tony said and closed his eyes, waiting for another hit to the face. But it didn't come. Carefully he opened his eyes a little bit:

"No hitting me?", he asked sarcastically and looked at his kidnapper, who just sat there next to him with the facial expression of a zombie. There was just nothing there.

"You know, withholding information is the same as lying. And you're lying", she said in a cold voice and leaned down over him, caressing his chest again. Tony cringed inside his mind. He didn't like the way her curious fingers were exploring his upper body… And his eyes opened wide as he felt her starting to unbutton his shirt. Trying to turn to the side, he was quickly pressed down on his back again by her hands. She was stronger than he would have thought and the bed posts were more solid than he thought was fair. Starting to move his hands slightly, he quickly discovered that these weren't normal knots… it was professional knots… and tight enough to make the soft rope gnaw into his skin, almost cutting off the blood circulation.

"Tell me more… and no lying. What did you tell the committee?", Alexis said as she grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up a bit, staring at him. Tony just stared at her to show her that he wasn't afraid of her… even though he kind of was.

"That he was… mentally unstable… and not capable of such a job", Tony finally said and looked at her as her eyes seemed to be blazing:

"All he ever wanted was to get that job! He thought the world of you, Anthony..!", she burst out and pulled Tony closer by his collar, their faces only inches from each other:

"And you betrayed him…!", she yelled into his face. Tony shook his head lightly:

"No, I didn….", he started, but he was cut off when she violently pushed him back down on the mattress and grabbed a hold of his shirt, tearing it open and making the small, white buttons fly everywhere. Tony's eyes became wide.

"And now you're gonna pay… everyone else got warm recommendations, didn't they??!", she spat and looked him deep in the eyes. Tony's heart was thumping so loud, that he thought it was going to jump out his chest.

"They deserved it….!", he yelled and looked at Alexis' almost shocked facial expression:

"And Aaron didn't?!", she nearly growled as she placed her finger nails on his upper chest and then let them dig into his skin, sliding them down to his belly button. Tony pushed his head back against the mattress and squeezed his eyes shut from the stinging pain.

"No, he didn't…!", Tony groaned and finally she stopped clawing him. Tony opened his eyes and looked at her. She had an animalistic glint in her green eyes…

"And for that 'word' you put in for him… you're gonna wish you were never born", she just said as she grabbed his head with both of her hands, pulling him in close. He could smell her perfume… and as his heart was racing along with his mind Tony couldn't help but ask:

"Corey Davis…?", he just said and Alexis smiled:

"What do YOU think?", she asked and started moving her head down to his chest.

"You bitch…", Tony whispered. She had obviously killed Corey too and now Tony was the final piece to the puzzle. Everyone else except Aaron Peterson had passed with flying colors. Tony had had to tell the truth to the committee, even though he liked Aaron. That job would have either got him killed or run him into the ground. Tony's chain of thought was broken as he felt the warmth of Alexis' lips on his chest, kissing him and he jumped a little when her tongue circled his nipple.

"Get off me!", Tony said, but there was no response. Instead she was moving further down towards his belt buckle. Without a word she started to loosen it and Tony immediately started to squirm. The bed quirked violently as he tried to free his wrists and ankles… again his heart was racing much faster than what seemed normal. But then again this wasn't exactly a normal situation. To his horror she now opened his belt buckle and opened his fly, pulling his pants down to his hips… and to his utter surprise he looked down and saw that his boxers looked like a tent. Alexis let out a giggle.

"So sweet", she just said and slid her hand down his naked chest, his abdomen and now on his boxers. As soon as she touched him through the fabric of his boxers he twitched and his heart seemed to skip a beat. Why the hell was he erect??? Tony's mind was spinning… it had to be something in the injection. His heart hurt.

"Let's play a game…", Alexis said and got up from the bed, walking towards the chest of drawers. Tony's gaze followed her closely, but she was standing with her back to him rummaging in one of the drawers. 'I don't want to play a game', Tony thought and his eyed widened as she turned around, revealing a silvery condom pack between her fingers.

"I picked extra large… let's hope it fits", she said in a cheerful voice and Tony just started shaking his head:

"No! No, no, you can't do this..!", he said feverishly and again he tried to wriggle out of the rope, but it was impossible. Alexis walked up to the bed again and sat herself down next to him, showing him the condom pack as she let it slide to and fro in front of his wide open, hazel eyes.

"Yes, I can, dear…", she said in a maternal tone of voice and suddenly grabbed a hold of him through the fabric of the boxers. The sensation made Tony involuntarily arch his back a little – it was like he was on fire and every touch made him twitch violently. Swallowing he could do nothing but watch as she started to slide off his boxers, pulling them down his slender hips. And he was exposed. His erection was killing him and he was already glistening with what had to be pre-cum. This was the most embarrassing thing he had ever experienced… and it would probably be the last. No! He couldn't think like that… Gibbs was going to find him. He had to!

"Here we go", Alexis suddenly said and slowly ripped open the condom pack…

"Alexis, don't do this…!", Tony heard himself say, but there was no reaction from her. Instead she carefully pulled out the condom and edged herself down the mattress to his throbbing manhood. Slowly she slid the condom on him and he felt his stomach turn as the sensation ran through him, making his pulse skyrocket. Thoughts ran through his mind in a hectic pace – Corey Davis, Aaron Peterson, Gibbs…. Would they find him in time???


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

**THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 9.25 PM**

Ziva looked at Gibbs as he pulled out his cell phone in the dark of the cemetery, opened it and started dialing. Ziva kept pointing her flash light at the grave… Luckily there was no fresh soil… No new flowers, although she spotted a small basket with stones and pebbles in it and frowned. Who brought stones to a grave? Squatting down she had a closer look at the basket while Gibbs was standing behind her, bending a little forwards too in order to see what had caught her attention. Without exchanging a word, Gibbs just reached in his pocket, pulled out a pair of gloves and handed them to Ziva. She put them on and started to carefully move the stones and pebbles piled onto each other. At the same moment someone picked up the phone in Louisville, Kentucky.

**

"Hello?", a female voice said. By the sound of it she had to be past her mid-forties.

"Hello, this is special agent Gibbs, NCIS, Washington DC", Gibbs greeted in his most neutral voice.

"…I'm Margaret Peterson, what's this about?", she asked in a concerned voice.

"I need to ask you a few questions, Miss Peterson. Regarding your son", Gibbs said and he could feel Margaret's confusion.

"…Yes?", she just said and he could sense how this seemed to be tearing up a not yet healed wound.

"I'm sorry to be blunt, but I have to ask you how he died", Gibbs said and the other line went silent for a moment. He heard a slight sigh.

"He committed suicide… one year ago, Agent Gibbs. Exactly one year ago…", Margaret said and a puzzled expression decorated Gibbs' face. So he hadn't been murdered… apparently.

"How did he do it?", Gibbs asked with a frown. He had a feeling that he was on the right track, even though one answer seemed to raise a thousand more questions. The line again went silent for a few seconds.

"He hung himself… in our back yard…", Margaret said silently. And now Gibbs' mind was racing:

"From a tree?", Gibbs asked and again silence.

"What is this??", Margaret asked suspiciously and Gibbs rubbed his forehead:

"NCIS is investigating a case and I need some answers. And fast. Do you know what kind of tree Aaron hung himself from? I am sorry, but this is important, Miss Peterson", Gibbs said in an almost compassionate voice and waited for a reply.

"It's a Clethra cinnamon tree… I know because my husband used to work as a gardener. Why??", she asked and shivers ran down Gibbs' spine. He had hit the bulls eye… Now he just needed to sort out the loose ends.

"Because the tree seems to be linked to a case here in DC. Miss Peterson, do you know an Alexis Carpenter??", Gibbs asked.

"No. No, can't say that I do", Margaret said in a thick Kentucky accent and Gibbs closed his eyes in frustration for a few seconds.

"Okay. I am going to give you a description and I want you to tell me if you know her or have seen her anywhere near your home, okay?", Gibbs asked. He knew that this was a long shot… but he had no choice.

"Sure…", Margaret said confusedly. Gibbs pointed his flash light at Ziva and the basket… something white seemed to appear from under the stones and pebbles.

"5'7, pretty, green eyes, red hair, no wedding ring, pale skin, a hint of freckles on her nose, no Kentucky accent, more DC, works at Daisy's on 12th…", Gibbs listed, but he was cut off:

"Cassandra! Has anything happened to Cassandra??", Margaret asked in a sudden panic.

"We don't know yet", Gibbs lied. He had to keep Miss Peterson in a position willing to give out information and not go into a defensive mode.

"How do you know her?", Gibbs asked.

"I'm her aunt…", Margaret said. Which meant that Aaron Peterson had to be Alexis' slash Cassandra's cousin.

"What is her last name and where does she live..?", Gibbs asked and hoped that Margaret wasn't going to say Hills Lane 124. If she said that… then Gibbs could be responsible for the death of Tony.

"54th Street, block D, apartment 8, Washington DC… And her name is Cassandra Jenkins", Margaret said in a shaky voice. Gibbs lit up – he hadn't been wrong.

"Thank you, Miss Peterson. I will get back to you", Gibbs said and hung up the phone as he squatted down next to Ziva, who pulled a piece of folded up paper out from the basket.

**

"Not again…", Gibbs said in a frustrated voice:

"Hurry, Ziva, we have to go to 54th street", Gibbs said and Ziva quickly unfolded the paper, which read:

* * *

HELLO AGAIN NCIS.  
FOLLOW THE RABBIT

**-The gamer**

* * *

"The rabbit?", Ziva said in a confused voice. Gibbs motioned for her to stick the paper in a plastic bag he pulled out from his pocket. As she did, Gibbs looked at Ziva in the dark:

"We'll probably find out. Gotta go!", he said and closed the bag, stuffing it in his inner pocket as they turned around and ran for the car.

**  
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 9.35 PM**

Tony squirmed as she placed herself on top of his thighs, which were slightly spread. Pulling at the bed posts like crazy Tony looked up at Alexis:

"You'll never get away with this…!", he groaned as she grabbed a hold of his erection and started rubbing gently… His heart again was racing like an energizer bunny and it smarted.

"Did I ever say that?", Alexis mocked and leaned forwards a bit, focusing on her fist which was now stroking him. Tony felt like he was going to throw up…

"Leave me alone!", he hissed under his breath, but he knew that it wasn't going to change anything. She was having her way with him and there was nothing he could do… Desperately his eyes scanned the room… nothing… nothing useful. She seemed to have been planning this for months.

"You know, it's his anniversary today…", Alexis said and Tony glared at her confused:

"Who?", he asked in a shaking voice. She immediately leaned over him, her face only inches from his as she grabbed a handful of his hair:

"AARON, you idiot…!", she snarled and pulled a little, just to watch him cringe. She loved it when they were like this… totally helpless. But still with such a smart mouth. Tony bit his lip… Of course she had meant Aaron. He was all she seemed to talk about. It was his birthday??

"...So... is he your boyfriend…?", Tony asked and tried to ignore the pain in his scalp. Alexis finally let go of his hair and just glared at him:

"No, he wasn't…", she said and Tony thought he could see something that resembled sorrow in her emerald eyes. Wait... she had said 'wasn't'…

"Is he... dead…?", Tony asked in shock and Alexis took a deep breath, her eyes again sparkling with anger. This guy was just so incredibly stupid…

"YES, he is…", Alexis said in a flat voice and leaned even more forwards, her pale face towering above him as she looked at his tanned, bruised face. Tony's eyebrows shot up…

"And you know WHY, Anthony?", she asked in a whisper as she caressed his left cheek with one of her long finger nails. Tony swallowed and shook his head, turning away from her unwanted touch.

"Because of you…! You killed him!", she suddenly yelled and planted a solid fist in Tony's abdomen, making him gasp as all air was knocked out of him. He wanted to curl up, but he couldn't because of the ropes. Heaving for air he coughed and closed his eyes as he was almost hoping that he WOULD pass out.

"Aww… Did that hurt?", Alexis asked in her fake concerned voice. Tony couldn't answer… no air…

"Then maybe you can feel a fraction of what Aaron felt when you shattered his dreams… and his life", Alexis spat and looked down at him. He was just staring at the ceiling, battling for his lungs to start taking in air again. She noticed how a vein was pulsating in the side of his neck from the air depravation. Suddenly she leaned down and pressed her lips hard against his… and he immediately tried to turn his face away, but she grabbed his head, holding him tight as she kissed her victim. However Tony managed to bite her lower lip so hard that he tasted blood and Alexis withdrew with a yelp, covering her mouth with her hand. Glaring at him she whispered under her breath:

"You'll regret that, you little bastard…!"

Tony sent her a fake, but brilliant smile, just to provoke her. He knew that it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but he had run out of options. And when Tony felt vulnerable… he did what he did best.

"Will I?", he asked, still a smile glued to his face. Alexis stared at him, a little confused, yet blazing with anger:

"Oh yes…", she said and again she grabbed a hold of his manhood, making him jump. Tony blinked a few times as his heart seemed to be banging against his sore rib cage. Stroking him harder and faster Tony lost the grip on his smile and instead he couldn't help but let out small, involuntary groans. But it wasn't from pleasure… more like a mix of pain and fear. Yes, fear. He finally admitted it to himself – he was scared. Anthony DiNozzo was scared half to death.

"Not laughing now, huh?? You know what?", Alexis asked as she kept going with the handjob. Tony closed his eyes shut, trying not to respond to anything she said or did.

"I'm gonna make you cum… and then I'm gonna fuck you like the worthless piece of shit you are", she said and circled her thumb around the head of his erection. Tony's closed eye lids seemed to twitch as he gasped from the sensation. He couldn't help it, but he was approaching his climax… he didn't want to… he couldn't…

"Cum for me, Anthony…", she said and Tony tried to think of all of the things that turned him off most… his old class teacher when she was wearing a too short skirt for a 60-year old, Gibbs in a bikini, Oprah naked, Alexis holding his dick…

"O…Oh… God…!!", Tony burst out and to his horror and humiliation he came. He felt how his semen flowed down the inside of the condom and onto his pelvis. His heart was hammering and it hurt so bad… but not as much as the humiliation did. Why couldn't he control himself…?!

"That a good boy…", Alexis chuckled and got up from the bed. Breathing hard and unevenly Tony looked up at her, but he couldn't look her in the eyes. Instead he focused on her nose… He hadn't even noticed that she had freckles until now. To his surprise she started to undress… but only taking off her boots and her lilac skirt, which revealed a black g-string. Looking to the other side Tony couldn't believe what had just happened… and what was about to happen. 'Gibbs, where are you…', Tony thought. But then again… he really didn't want to be found like this. It would be too humiliating. He'd rather die. But still he couldn't give up. Something inside him just wouldn't let him.

"Ready?", Alexis suddenly asked in his ear and Tony jumped from the surprise. Slowly turning his head towards her, not looking down but at her nose instead:

"For a game?", he asked as sweat dripped down his face and placed his head back straight on the mattress, looking up at the strip lamps. As if she could… However when Tony glanced down he was shocked – he was still erect, just as hard as before…?! What was going on…??? Swallowing he looked back at Alexis who merely sent him a knowing smile.

"Yes, for a game…", she nodded and swung her leg over him, standing above him. Tony refused to look… and she began grinding herself against him. He closed his eyes and tried to dream himself away to Hawaii or somewhere just nice and sunny. However he couldn't escape the sensation of her naked body grinding against his hardness. She chuckled.

"Ready to be fucked?", she just said. It wasn't really a question. Tony's heart seemed to skip a couple of beats and then kept racing… he felt like he was going to pass out. Even his vision was starting to blur.

"No…", he heard himself say, but she just laughed and he felt how she slid him inside of her. Twitching Tony's back arched again and he pressed the back of his head against the mattress in a grimace of disgust and pain.

**  
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 9.35 PM**

Gibbs floored the speeder and Palmer's red Ford Fiesta slung gravel everywhere as it thundered down the street from Oak Hill Cemetary. Ziva was just behind him in her car.  
Dialing Ducky's number Gibbs turned a right and headed east for 54th street. He had to get to Tony in time… he just had to. If this wasn't the right address, it would be too late.

**

"Hello Jethro, did you find Tony???", Ducky asked.

"Maybe. Ducky, I need you at 54th Street, block D, apartment 8… Bring a Viagra anti-dote!", Gibbs said and swallowed. She was probably doing to Tony what she had done to the others right now. Anger rose inside Gibbs' mind… how could anyone do such a thing?? Racing through a lot of what seemed to be calm neighborhoods to avoid the traffic Gibbs said:

"Hurry", and hung up the phone. Just as he was about to put it in his pocket it rang. Gibbs shortly looked at the display – it was Abby.

**

"Gibbs", he just said.

"There might be third victim, Gibbs… besides Tony… I mean…", Abby's voice said and he did as he usually did – cut her off:

"WHO, Abs?", he merely said and heard typing again.

"I forgot to tell you, but there was actually another man in Tony's class named Corey Davis and he…", she began.

"You FORGOT??!", Gibbs spat and silence fell for a moment.

"I was thinking about Tony, Gibbs!", Abby said in a hurt voice and that seemed to cool Gibbs down a bit.

"What have you got?", Gibbs managed to say as he ran a red light, causing other cars to hit the brakes with loud shrieking.

"Well, he has been missing from Baltimore police station since January 10th this year, he just didn't show up at work one morning", she said.

"Does 'follow the rabbit' mean anything to you?", Gibbs asked as he turned a left.

"Well, yeah… Alice in Wonderland, Gibbs. The rabbit's hole where Alice tumbles into this weird, alternative world – it's one of Disney's best, I personally think – especially the tea party where…", she began and Gibbs sighed loudly into the phone:

"Abs!", he just said.

"Sorry, Gibbs…", Abby said.

"That doesn't make sense… but somehow I bet it's gonna… By the way, the chle… chlet… the damn tree is in Alexis' aunt's back yard, where Aaron Peterson hung himself one year ago. I still don't know why she's killing off everyone in Tony's class. Look up a Cassandra Jenkins, Abs", he said and typing was heard again.

"Gotcha… Here it is… Cassandra Lydia Jenkins, 54th street, Block… why though?", she asked, cutting herself off.

"Because she's Alexis, she's our killer", Gibbs said.

"And I have the address. Dig up everything you can on her, Abs", he added and was about to hang up when Abby said:

"She's spotless… not even a parking ticket… hence no finger prints… oh god, Gibbs, please hurry!", she pleaded and Gibbs nodded:

"I will, Abs… You can count on it", he said and hung up as he speeded down 54th street, looking for block D with Ziva right behind him. He hoped he wasn't too late.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

**THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 9.35 PM**

Alexis had grabbed a hold of the root of Tony's shaft as she was moving up and down on him, stopping the condom from sliding off. Tony's mind seemed to be spinning in all directions, shattered and unconnected thoughts kept running through his brain and his heart was thumping so hard and fast that even his hearing was affected. The sensation – even through the rubber – was making him involuntarily arch his back and pressing the back of his head into the mattress. He just couldn't believe that this was happening, it seemed so unreal… yet frighteningly real. He tried as hard as he could to not feel the arousal that the friction was causing – why was he not able to stop his approaching climax?? He felt more embarrassed and humiliated than he had ever felt before… he wished that he had fought her early, even though that what was left of his rational mind was telling him that he couldn't have. He would have got himself killed if he had… and somehow he wished that he then SHOULD have fought her. That would have been more humane than this. To his embarrassment he could hear himself letting out small groans and gasps – he couldn't hold it in.

"Stop…", Tony managed to say as he felt his heart almost cramping. It felt like it was going to explode…

"Not yet", was Alexis' answer as she started riding him harder. She herself was short of breath and panting as she took advantage of his body. She loved the look in his hazel and greenish eyes… he looked pretty much like a deer trapped in the head lights of a speeding car. She could feel how he was twitching under her – he was about to come. She could feel it. And she started to ride him even harder, making him grimace from the pain radiating from his throbbing manhood and his racing heart. It wouldn't take long now….

"P… Please…!!", Tony groaned as he felt how he couldn't hold it back. Alexis let out a chuckle as she leaned down over him, her breasts pressing against his chest through the fabric of her grey blouse. Whispering in his ear, Alexis felt how she herself was cramping in an orgasm:

"Yes... yes... yes!", she panted and as her hot breath hit the side of Tony's neck, he squirmed and almost buckled as he came:

"God…! Ohhh…! No…!", he groaned as he felt his release take control of his body and he turned his head to the side, gritting his teeth as the sensation rolled through him like powerful waves of pain mixed with odd and unwanted pleasure. Finally the twitching seemed to subside and he tried to calm down just a little, but his heart kept racing as if he was still in the middle of an orgasm. Grinning Alexis got off of him and looked down at him – he was covered in sweat, semen slowly trickling down his hips and thighs and his cheeks were flushed with red. His hair was pointing in all directions and she could tell that he had trouble looking her in the eyes. Alexis let out a sigh of satisfaction:

"I really enjoyed that, Anthony…", she just said and Tony glared at her again – or rather, her nose. He didn't have anything to say. What was the point anyway? She had completely taken away his dignity…

"Just kill me already", Tony said under his breath and watched her as she walked to the chest of drawers by the wall. Again she opened a drawer and rummaged about for something. 'Oh god, what now…?', Tony thought as he found that his eyes were again scanning his surroundings for some sort of way out. But he had done that about twenty times already… His glance returned to her as she turned around, holding something between her fingers:

"Know what this is?", she asked in an innocent tone of voice and approached the bed again. Tony's eyes narrowed as he tried to fight his blurred vision… it looked like a wooden splinter. Confused he looked up at Alexis who was towering above him. She had a skew smile on her face as she sat down next to him, holding the rather large needle-like piece of wood in front of his face for him to see.

"What's that?", Tony asked and she grinned:

"The last thing you will ever feel, DiNozzo. Just like Aaron did", she just said and ruffled his hair. Frustrated he turned his head to the side:

"What, you killed him too?", Tony asked and gasped as she grabbed a hold of his hair, pulling his head backwards – her eyes were blazing:

"I already TOLD you!! YOU killed him!", she snarled and looked at him closely. Tony's mind was racing. He certainly hadn't killed Aaron, if he had he would remember! He had liked that kid!

"No, I didn't…!!", Tony hissed and jerked his head to the side, making her lose her grip on his hair. It smarted as hair strands was pulled out of his scalp by his sudden movement. Letting out a growl Alexis jumped up from the bed, pointing her index finger at him:

"YOU flunked him…! That's why he isn't here anymore! He hung himself, Anthony! Because of YOU!", she yelled and Tony's eyes grew wide…

"He… hung himself…?", Tony asked as he recalled how troubled the young man had to have been. Why hadn't he anticipated that? Why hadn't he… he could have helped him! But he hadn't seen the signs… Oh god…

"Yes, Anthony, he did!! Exactly one year ago… and now… justice will be done. Feel that aching heart?", she asked and Tony frowned. Alexis noticed and sent him a smile:

"That's you dying… and before you do, I will make what's rest of your life a living hell", she said and smiled a cold smile.

**  
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, 9.45 PM**

Gibbs eyed his surroundings like a falcon on the hunt as he speeded down 54th street. They didn't have much time, he could sense it. Ziva was on his six, driving like a mad woman – barely avoiding parked cars and oncoming traffic. Picking up his phone Gibbs rang McGee:

**

"_Did you find Tony, boss??_", was McGee's anxious greeting.

"_About to. Have you got the witnesses?_", Gibbs asked as he drove past block A.

"_Yes, boss, I'm at the headquarters – they're all in custody, waiting to be questioned_", McGee said.

"_Then what are you waiting for? Get your ass to 54th street!_", Gibbs commanded and hung up.

"_What's on 54th street? I mean yes, boss…! Hello…?_", McGee said in the other end of the line until he realized that Gibbs had hung up several seconds earlier.

**

Gibbs stepped on the brakes as he eyed block D and the tires of the red Ford was sliding across the asphalt with a loud, shrieking sound. At the moment there was no one in the opposite lane and pulling the wheel hard to the left, Gibbs drove down an alley. Ziva followed. There wasn't much light here, most of the street lamps had gone out, shedding only little light on the broken drainpipes. Gibbs had slowed down and drove past several doors with numbers on them… as he turned a narrow corner he noticed a sign with several numbers on a door – apartments 6-10! This was it… and as he stopped the car he saw his own grey car parked next to a van on a small parking lot. Ziva stopped right behind him – and they were both quickly out of their cars, drawing their guns. Approaching the door, they could see that it was a little ajar… but there was nothing to be heard. Gibbs looked at Ziva, who carefully grabbed the door handle and slowly swung the door open – immediately Gibbs was inside, pointing his gun in all possible directions… no one was there. A concrete staircase led upwards and a small set of stairs led to a basement. Gibbs turned to the mail boxes – and sure enough, one read Cassandra Lydia Jenkins, apartment 8. That was on the first floor and Gibbs made his way slowly up the stairs with his gun pointing at any possible angle from where someone might take a shot at him. He waved at Ziva to cover his back while he headed up the stairs… the silence was almost deafening as his overstrained blue eyes were looking for any and every movement.

"Gibbs?", Ziva suddenly whispered and Gibbs almost jumped, but didn't remove his gaze from the stairs above him.

"WHAT, agent David…?!", he whispered back in annoyance. Carefully Ziva appeared at the bottom of the stairs, looking at Gibbs who was in a kind of frozen position as he held his gun in front of him.

"The janitor's mailbox…", she started, and Gibbs cut her off:

"What about it…?!", he whispered, still in this locked position. 'She better have a damn good reason', Gibbs thought. Ziva looked at him:

"There's a playboy sticker on it", she whispered and Gibbs frowned and felt how he flushed with anger:

"Any point as to why you're delaying us?", Gibbs whispered, this time a tiny bit louder – his eyes still locked at the hidden angles above him.

"The playboy bunny, boss…", Ziva said and immediately Gibbs unfroze and headed back down the stairs, clapping her shoulder lightly:

"You might just have saved Tony's life", Gibbs said and sent her a brief smile.

"Let's go to the rabbit's hole…", Gibbs added and started down the stairs to the basement, again holding his gun in front of him.  
As the stairs ended a long, dark hallway with only little light from some bulbs in the ceiling led them further forwards. There were doors on all sides, but obviously they had to find the one belonging to the janitor… Gibbs stopped for a moment as they reached the last part of the hallway… he thought he had heard something. Ziva stopped too, but if there HAD been a noise, it was gone now. Continuing down the corridor-like hallway they reached the last door… a tiny, pink Playboy sticker was on the door and a metal sign said 'JANITOR'. Gibbs motioned for Ziva to go first and he stepped to the side as she lifted up her foot – and kicked the door in with a loud 'crash'.  
Splinters flew everywhere and for a second Gibbs and Ziva were blinded by a strong, white light from strip lamps in the ceiling. However it quickly subsided, and as they looked in they were met by the horrible sight of Tony, bruised and battered, lying naked on a bed in the middle of the room. Duct tape covered his mouth and his ankles and wrists were tied to the bed posts. Tony seemed to be yelling under the tape, but the sound was low and weak. Ziva immediately stepped inside, turning to the right, away from the door – but her gun was snatched out of her hand and before she knew it she had her own gun under her chin and was being pulled away from the door opening. Immediately Gibbs was inside, pointing his gun at Alexis who was using Ziva as a personal shield. For a moment Gibbs' steel eyes met Ziva's… and a tiny smile appeared on Gibbs' face. Alexis obviously didn't know who she had just taken hostage.

"Move and she's dead!", Alexis almost yelped and pressed the gun against the soft skin under Ziva's chin.

"Put your gun down!!", Alexis yelled and Gibbs tilted his head a bit:

"Alright… just take it easy, Cassandra…", he said and started to lower the gun. In the middle of everything Tony's vision was blurring fast as his heart seemed to beat so fast that the rhythm became one big thump.….Cassandra??? He had tried to warn them, but he couldn't – even his voice was giving out. His cheeks were completely flushed with red from the extreme humiliation… naked and hard as he was he watched how Alexis… Cassandra was yelling at Gibbs to put down his gun. Tony couldn't believe they were here. 'This is like a bad movie', his confused mind said.

"Not yet! Not yet!!", Cassandra growled in desperation as she tried to drag Ziva to the back of the room. However Ziva was starting to resist slowly, just to shake Cassandra out of it.

"Not yet what?", Gibbs asked, his gun still moving towards the floor. He was moving slowly, and Cassandra had noticed:

"Drop the fucking gun!! He has to die!!", she shrieked in a highpitched voice. However just as she finished her sentence, Ziva's leg shot up and the front of her boot slammed into Cassandra's nose, forcing her head to swing backwards from the force of the blow. Blood sprayed from her nose and for just a second she lost her grip on the gun – and Ziva took advantage of it. Twisting herself out of Cassandra's grip she grabbed the gun out of her hands and hit her hard in the stomach with the handle. With a loud yelp Cassandra backed away and fell to the floor by the chest of drawers, one hand on her bloody nose and one on her aching stomach… the wind had been knocked out of her, and she couldn't move. However she tried to drag herself into a standing position by grabbing a hold of the chest of drawers – Tony's gun was on top of it. Just as she reached it, Gibbs tore it out of her hand and pointed it at her with his icy eyes blazing:

"Give me an excuse…!", he snarled in a low voice. Cassandra seemed to freeze for a few seconds – and then she started crying hysterically:

"NO! No, you can't do this!!! He killed Aaron! He has to die…!!!", Cassandra almost pleaded as she twisted in Ziva's grasp. Cassandra then stared at Gibbs coldly:

"Shoot me, agent Gibbs, come on…!!! Or don't you have the guts…?", she said in a flat voice. However Gibbs just said:

"THAT won't work on me… Cuff her, agent David"

As Ziva forced Cassandra's fighting hands on her back, Gibbs quickly walked over to the bed and carefully placed his jacket on top of Tony, covering his naked body. Lacking words, Gibbs carefully removed the duct tape from Tony's mouth. Not looking him in the eyes Tony licked his dry and smarting lips… the room was spinning.

"What the…", a voice said behind them and Gibbs spun around, reaching for his gun – however it was just McGee standing in the doorway… next to Ducky.

"Ducky, the anti-dote!!", Gibbs said and Dr Mallard immediately walked up to the bed and grabbed a syringe from his pocket. However as soon as Tony saw the light glistening in the cold steel of the needle, he started squirming:

"No…!", he yelled hoarsely and Gibbs grabbed a hold of his shoulders:

"Tony!!! It's us, it's us, you're safe!", he said in a paternal voice and this seemed to calm Tony down a little, but still his eyes were large and scared.

"It's an antidote for what she gave you", Gibbs assured as Ducky held a stethoscope to Tony's naked chest. He jumped by the touch.

"No time to waste, my dear boy…", Ducky said as he stuck the syringe in Tony's thigh – Tony let out a frightened yelp as he felt the needle penetrate his muscle. Gibbs swallowed as he watched the agonized look on Tony's bruised face.

"Warfarin and erythromycin… will do the trick… he needs an antidote for that too though", Ducky said as he injected the fluid. Sighing Ducky shook his head:

"There, he needs to go to the hospital… But he is out of immediate danger", Ducky said as he pulled out the syringe. Tony's eyes were closed… even though his mind was in a haze, he just couldn't look at anyone. He wished he was dead…

"No!! You bastards!!! No!!!", Cassandra's voice was screaming as Ziva led her down the hallway.  
Carefully Gibbs untied Tony, who barely reacted to the sensation of his wrists and ankles being freed. Gibbs felt how he was relieved… but at the same time his heart sank just by looking at Tony. He HAD wanted to kill Cassandra, but he couldn't let himself. He'd rather see her fry…

"Oh my god…", McGee said. He hadn't moved an inch from the doorway and Gibbs swore that he had never seen him this pale.

"Bag everything, McGee", Gibbs said as two men with a stretcher came in. McGee didn't answer at first… then he managed to nod and shakily he put on his gloves.

"DiNozzo…", Gibbs said and watched how Tony's closed eyelids were twitching. However he didn't open them. Gibbs knew that he would never be able to understand what this had to be like for Tony… Carefully Gibbs squeezed his hand lightly.

* * *

**SHOULD I CONTINUE??? DID YOU LIKE? PLEASE TELL ME YOUR OPINION. **


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

At Bethesda Naval Hospital Gibbs was sitting in a chair next to Tony's hospital bed. At the moment Tony was barely conscious and an IV was providing him with saline and medicine to annul the drugs which had been put in his system. Also to keep him from dehydrating, he hadn't had anything to drink for many hours. Gibbs watched as Tony's eyelids were moving slightly – like he was dreaming… Even though his colleague had been cleaned up, he still looked bruised and battered. Gibbs swallowed as he kept checking the EKG monitor for any irregularities. Tony's heart rhythm was a little high, but nothing abnormal. Gibbs noticed that small droplets of sweat were trickling down Tony's forehead.

"Don't…", Tony whispered hoarsely and shook his head as if he was trying to shake off whatever he was dreaming… or what had happened. Carefully Gibbs softly placed his hand on Tony's to assure him that he was safe, but immediately Tony tore away his hand and his eyes opened wide:

"NO…!!", he yelled and his eyes darted around the room, trying to identify his surroundings. As soon as his scared gaze found Gibbs a shocked expression decorated Tony's face:  
"… Boss…?", he said and looked at Gibbs as if he wasn't sure that he was real. Gibbs nodded:

"It's me… You're at Bethesda Naval Hospital, you're safe. It's over", Gibbs said and watched as Tony's gaze started to flicker slightly. Could it really be over?? No… This could never be over…

"Where is she??", Tony asked with a hint of desperation in his voice.

"She's in custody, DiNozzo", Gibbs answered and looked at Tony's puzzled expression. He was still not thinking straight - Gibbs could tell from the look in his hazel and green eyes. He looked… hurt. Not only physically, but much deeper. Gibbs made a fist of his hand from anger…

"Why didn't I help him…?", Tony said in a low voice, and Gibbs noticed that Tony had never once looked him in the eye after he woke up.

"Help who?", Gibbs asked concerned and studied Tony's agonized facial expression as his eyes were suspiciously exploring the room.

"Aaron… I didn't help him… instead I flunked him… he's dead… because of me…", Tony trailed off and this time Gibbs got up from his chair – slowly, but surely – and tried to gain eye contact with his senior agent:

"Tony… It's not your fault… Never has been and never will be", Gibbs said in a stern voice and looked at him as he turned his head towards the door, closing his eyes.

"Look at me", Gibbs said, but Tony didn't respond. Instead he bit his lower lip.

"LOOK AT ME, DiNozzo…!", Gibbs then commanded and slowly Tony turned his head back and opened his eyes… However Gibbs could feel that he wasn't looking him in the eye. Tony was looking at his nose. Letting out a small sigh, Gibbs grabbed a hold of the bed's metal frame:

"Don't let her mess with your head", he said and closed his hands so hard around the bed frame that he thought his fingers would break. He had never seen Tony like this… never. It was like he wasn't even there. Lightening the pressure on the metal frame, Gibbs loosened his grip.

"Boss…?", Tony suddenly said and stared out the window.

"Yeah, right here", Gibbs answered softly. Tony's gaze reminded Gibbs of the soldiers coming home from Afghanistan… the thousand mile stare. Shivers ran down his spine.

"Please… leave me alone…", Tony said and Gibbs' heart sank by the words, even though he understood. Putting on his coat, Gibbs looked at Tony:

"Alright. But I'll come back in an hour or so… You're not getting rid of me that easily", Gibbs said and walked for the door. Carefully he opened it and walked out on the hallway. Just as he was about to close the door, Tony said into the air as he was staring at the ceiling:

"Boss…. Thank you…", he said and closed his eyes again, drifting off. Gibbs nodded:

"Any time, DiNozzo…", he said and closed the door without a sound.

**

Walking down the hallway, Gibbs put his hand in his pocket… The cool plastic pressed itself against his fingers as he felt the contents of the little bag. Luckily Cassandra had only had the time to plant one splinter… it had been pulled out of Tony's left wrist when they arrived at the hospital. He had been too weak to speak, but an x-ray had revealed that it was there…. Gibbs gritted his teeth slightly. Just the sight of Tony in his present state was enough to make him want to drop all the interrogations and just put a bullet in her brain… However that wasn't how the game was played. And he knew it. Besides… life sentence would be worse for her. Living with the fact that she didn't complete her life's work.  
Gibbs suddenly eyed a doctor carrying a bunch of medical charts:

"Excuse me", Gibbs said and the doctor stopped, almost dropping some of the charts.

"Can I help you, sir?", the doctor said as he fumbled to get a proper hold on what he was carrying. Gibbs leaned forwards and looked at the doctor's name tag:

"What is the status on Anthony DiNozzo, Dr… Grames?", he asked and stood back upright.

"You a relative?", Dr Grames asked and looked Gibbs up and down. Gibbs sent him a skew, annoyed smile:

"No. I'm his boss and I want to know", he said and the doctor shook his head:

"I'm sorry, but we can't give out that sort of information to…", he started, but Gibbs interrupted him by pulling out his badge and almost sticking it in his face:

"Agent Gibbs, NCIS. This is a criminal investigation and if you don't give me a status right now, your ass is fired", Gibbs merely said and the doctor seemed to pale a little:

"Okay, okay… you could have just told me", Dr Grames said and placed the small dozen charts on a nearby table. Sighing he started to go through the charts in order to find Tony's. Gibbs was waiting, impatiently, and was tapping his finger on the wall.

"Busy day, doctor?", Gibbs asked and Dr Grames nodded:

"Yes, it's a full moon… always turns this place into a mad house", he explained and Gibbs couldn't help but let out a small grin:

"You really believe that, Doc?", Gibbs asked and Dr Grames just looked up at him:

"I believe the statistics, agent Gibbs… and what I see with my own eyes", he replied and finally he pulled out a chart from the bunch.

"Any werewolves lately?", Gibbs said, and snatched the chart out of Dr Grames' hand, trying to get the letters to be readable instead of blurry. Damned eye sight.

"Not that I can think of, agent Gibbs…!", Dr Grames said as he snatched the chart back. Gibbs let out a small sigh:

"So what have you got?", he asked. Dr Grames quickly scanned the chart with his brown eyes:

"Well, Mr DiNozzo has approximately 4 grams of erythromycin, 9 milligrams of warfarin and 225 milligrams of sildenafil in his blood. Sildenafil metabolizises in the liver via CYP3A4 and CYP2C9 to among other things an active metabolite. The half life period for sildenafil is three to five hours and the active metabolite…", Dr Grames explained, but Gibbs immediately cut him off:

"ENGLISH, doctor…!", he said and Dr Grames eyed him up and down for a moment:

"Well, an overdose of Viagra, the antidote for Viagra and an antidote for the Viagra antidote…", Dr Grames said and looked at Gibbs.

"Basically he has a lot of nasty things in his system, but they will annul themselves. He should be just fine, agent Gibbs. However the psychological trauma is another thing", the doctor said and Gibbs eyes narrowed a little…

"Well, he shows signs of severe PTSD, and I have called the Psych Ward to evaluate him. Did he just come home from the war in…", Dr Grames said, but Gibbs sighed:

"So you're sure that he suffers from post traumatic stress??", he asked and Grames nodded.

"I'm sorry, agent Gibbs. But nowadays we have excellent treatment for just this kind of disorder and…", Dr Grames began, but Gibbs waved him off as he walked for the stairs, shaking his head in frustration and anger. Not that he hadn't seen this coming… he had just hoped that he was wrong. Buttoning his coat Gibbs walked out of the hospital and got in an NCIS loan car… his own was now evidence. Starting the engine, Gibbs rested his head against the window for just a moment, thinking… he was worried. For once Gibbs was actually worried. Sinking the lump in his throat he finally put the car in gear and headed for the headquarters. He had a psychopath to interrogate.

**

At Bethesda Tony was lying restless in his bed… even though his body and mind needed sleep, he just couldn't let himself fall asleep. Not with the images and feelings sleep brought with it. Fighting against the weight of his eyelids, Tony was staring at the ceiling, eyes darting everywhere. Had they really got her?? Where was he exactly?? Had Gibbs been here earlier?? Confused Tony made fists of his hands… He hoped that he hadn't been seen the way he was… naked and tied up like some sort of play doll. However something in his mind told him that this was the truth… he had felt the stares. And something being put over him and Gibbs' voice… and Ducky's… even McGee's. And his captor's… Whatever her name was.

"Mr DiNozzo?", a voice suddenly said by the door, and Tony jumped up into a sitting position, his fists raised in the air. He glared at a man standing in the doorway… he looked like a doctor.

"Easy, easy…", the man said, but Tony didn't put down his guard. Instead his eyes darted to and fro, uncertain of what to think or believe.

"My name is Doctor William Grames… You're at Bethesda Naval Hospital…", Dr Grames said and another man appeared behind him. Bald and wearing glasses. Again Tony jumped as his breathing was getting heavy and fast.

"Mr DiNozzo, we just want to ask you some questions… We're here to help", the doctor said compassionately and looked at the bewildered man in the hospital bed, who was now studying the needle in his hand from the IV.

"What are you giving me!?", Tony suddenly spat out and the two men in the doorway looked at each other:

"Saline and medicine to get you better", Dr Grames said, but he spotted the suspicious look in Tony's eyes.

"You're lying!", Tony yelled and suddenly ripped out the needle from his hand and jumped over the side of the bed. However his legs couldn't carry him properly, and he collapsed on the floor – but still his eyes were locked on the two men.

"Call Security!!! And get Psych uphere!", Dr Grames burst out and the two men hurried to Tony's side, but his fists were flying wildly, trying to hit them.

"Immobilize him!", the bald man said and with a hard grasp Tony was pressed against the floor, his arms and legs completely locked. Fighting in vain with the little strength he had, Tony was yelling frantically:

"Boss!!! Gibbs!!! Gibbs, where are you!? No!!!"  
As the two doctors were holding down the screaming and fighting agent, the bald man looked at Dr Grames:

"We're going to need restraints!", he said and tried to catch Tony's attention:

"Mr DiNozzo!! Your boss will be here soon, stop fighting, you'll hurt yourself…!!", he yelled, but Tony wouldn't look at him. Instead tears were starting to stream down Tony's face… but now there was no sound, only weak attempts to squirm free.

"Why… why…!", Tony whispered hoarsely and the two doctors looked at each other:

"He's in shock… What the hell happened to him?", Dr Grames said into the air as he watched Tony who was now drifting in and out of consciousness again.

"That's how all P.O.W.s react once they're freed…", the bald man said and swallowed. Unfortunately he had seen a lot of patients like this…

"We need to get him to the third floor", he added and Dr Grames reluctantly nodded. Mr DiNozzo was too unpredictable to be hospitalized in an open ward at the moment.

"Once the drugs are out of his system we can only hope that he will regain his sanity", the bald man said just as three security guards and two hospital porters appeared in the doorway.

* * *

**So I continued based on my dear reviewers' requests.... I'm not sure where I'm going with this yet and I've had trouble uploading, but I'm sure I'll sort it out. If you have any good ideas please PM me. And reviews are what keeps me going, so please.... Tell me what you think...?**


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

From behind the mirror Ziva and McGee were standing leaned against each side of the wall, watching Cassandra who was sitting by the table in the interrogation room. She was cuffed and looked rather pale... paler than a redhead normally did.

"She seems calm", Ziva said and tilted her head a bit as she watched the non-existing body language of Cassandra as she just sat there, motionless.

"She won't be for long", Gibbs' voice suddenly said, and McGee jumped by the sudden sound. Gibbs looked at McGee shortly:

"Nervous, McGee?", he asked the younger agent, who looked a little startled and then managed to shake his head:

"No... No, boss...!", McGee replied and cleared his throat as Gibbs opened the door to the interrogation room and walked inside.  
Cassandra looked up at him as he walked around the table, eyeing her like a lion who had just spotted a prey. However she didn't flinch or show any signs of intimidation what so ever. Gibbs placed his palms on the table and leaned forwards a bit, looking at her with his icy stare:

"What was your motive?", Gibbs simply asked. Cassandra let out a small sigh:

"I told you that three times already... And why am I even here and not in a jail cell?", she snapped back as she rubbed the nail of her thumb against the table plate's edge. The cuffs were annoying, linking her hands together in front by a chain.

"Well, tell me again", Gibbs said as his glance pierced her to the bone. She didn't seem to notice though. Leaning back in the chair, she looked at the older man:

"You didn't answer my question", Cassandra merely said and Gibbs narrowed his eyes:

"I ask the questions and you provide the answers, got that, Miss Jenkins?", he said in a monotone voice. Cassandra let out a small laugh.

"Maybe I want a lawyer", she said and tilted her head a bit, looking at Gibbs:

"However this is quite fun. I think I'll play your game... Just don't bore me", Cassandra said and dug her nail into the table plate. She really felt like strangling this very annoying, older agent right now... but something about the situation intrigued her.

"Oh, I won't...", Gibbs just said and sat himself down in a chair opposite her. Studying her stone-like face, Gibbs folded his hands in his lap and sat back.

"You a catholic, Miss Jenkins?", Gibbs asked and a small smile spread on her face:

"So observant", she just said, looking down on the tiny pearl rosary around her neck.

"That's why you symbolically crucified your victims", Gibbs said as if he was talking to himself.

"Using splinters from the tree that Aaron hanged himself in...", he said, noticing how the corner of her mouth twitched just a tiny bit. It was only for a split second though.

"You couldn't handle how everyone in the class passed... and your cousin didn't", he continued. This time Cassandra's gaze moved from the mirror to Gibbs' blue eyes:

"WRONG! Anyone can fail a class... However it's different when your best friend sells you out", she said in a low voice as her green eyes sparkled with rising anger. Gibbs just looked at her:

"DiNozzo did what he had to...", Gibbs said, but Cassandra immediately cut him off:

"NO, he didn't!! He sold him out and now he's dead!!", she snapped, and Gibbs added:

"Just like Thomas Hannigan and Joe Phillips... however they didn't choose it, you did", Gibbs said and shoved some pictures in front of her – pictures from the two crime scenes. A little smile appeared on her face as she looked back at Gibbs:

"They deserved it... Aaron didn't ", she said flatly and tilted her head a bit to the side as she studied Gibbs. The agent placed his elbows on the table:

"You're looking at several life sentences, Miss Jenkins... Care to tell me, where Corey Davis is?", he asked as his glance pierced her again. However she just smiled:

"I guess you'll never know....", she said. Gibbs let out a small laugh:

"Oh, we'll know", he said and Cassandra smiled again, but there was no emotion behind the facade. She wasn't even trying to claim any sort of innocence... in fact she seemed proud of what she had done and showed no remorse. But Gibbs knew her soft spot perfectly well:

"So how does it feel to fail?", he suddenly asked and this time a glimpse of emotion showed itself on Cassandra's face. A weird mix of hate and sorrow rose in her glance. She didn't answer.

"Your master plan failed... you tripped on your own arrogance, Miss Jenkins", Gibbs said and sent her a small smile. He knew he had the upper hand.

"You didn't think any of us read Playboy?", he added with a grin and watched as her facial expression became increasingly angry and kind of desperate. Still she didn't answer, she was just looking at him. She might have lost the battle... but not the war. Yet.

"Oh, and DiNozzo is doing just fine", he added and looked at the anger bubble to the surface as she sat there with a stone face. Why had she left that damn bunny clue?!

"Anything else, agent Gibbs?", she then suddenly said in a monotone voice and looked at him. She looked defeated. Gibbs just picked back up the photos and then looked at her shortly:

"Nope", he said casually and got up from his chair and waved at her to stand up. He would get much more out of her next time, and Gibbs was determined to break her down.  
She stood up and he led her to the door out of the interrogation room:

"See you in court, Miss Jenkins", he added as he grabbed a hold of her upper arm, leading her out of the room. As they exited Ziva and McGee were waiting and both sent Cassandra a glare capable of killing. They walked down the hallway, Ziva and McGee behind them, to deliver her to the waiting officers in the entrance hall.

"Hope you like the sight of bars", Ziva said and smiled a sarcastic smile. However just as she finished the sentence, Cassandra spun around, reached out her hands and snatched the gun right out of Ziva's holster, knocking Gibbs into the wall. Ziva immediately reached out for the gun, but with a movement as fast as lightning – the barrel of the gun was in Cassandra's mouth and a loud 'bang' sounded. Everyone closed their eyes for a split second... Except Gibbs, who saw how the wall was sprayed with blood as the bullet penetrated Cassandra's brain. Silence fell...

"Oh my god...!", McGee burst out, first to break the deafening silence. Completely pale as a sheet he turned around and pressed his now sweating forehead against the opposite side of the wall. Ziva just stood there and looked at Gibbs:

"Boss, I... I...", she started, but he butted in:

"If you're gonna say 'sorry' – spare me!", he said in a strict voice and looked back at the gore in front of him. He then looked back at Ziva:

"I guess she didn't like the sight of bars", he just said and strode out of the hallway just as some security guards came storming in, almost tumbling into him. They stopped dead in their tracks as they saw the mess in front of them:

"Jesus...", one of them burst out as they started dialling for assistance with a clean-up. Just as Gibbs walked out of the hallway, his phone rang:

* * *

"Yeah, Gibbs", he said.  
"This is doctor Grames from Bethesda Naval Hospital. Mr DiNozzo is in bad shape, we had to restrain him", the doctor said. Gibbs' eyebrows immediately shot up:  
"What?!", Gibbs burst out and the doctor continued:  
"He has been moved to the psych ward on the third floor", he said.  
"I'll be right there!", Gibbs said and shut his phone, hurrying to the car.

* * *

**

As Gibbs ran down the hallway, bumping into a few nurses on his way, he finally reached door number 11 on the psychiatric ward. From the room he heard some noises, that he couldn't quite place and almost out of breath he ran around the corner to the room – and there was Tony strapped tight to a hospital bed by his wrists, torso and ankles. By his side was a bald man with glasses, holding a notebook as he was writing on it with a pen, looking very concentrated. Tony was squirming and immediately noticed Gibbs – and the expression of recognition was quickly displayed on his face and he seemed to calm down a little.

"What is going on here?!", Gibbs demanded, and the bald man jumped, almost dropping his pen as he looked up at the grey haired man suddenly in the room. Getting up from the chair, the rather chubby man offered his hand to Gibbs:

"I'm James Forry, I'm a psychiatrist", he said, but Gibbs didn't accept the handshake:

"That's not what I asked", Gibbs just said and looked the man with quite a beer belly up and down. The man sighed:

"I will have to know who you are, are you a relative or...", he started, and Gibbs couldn't help but roll his eyes and flash his badge again. The bald man corrected his glasses and took a good, long look:

"Agent Gibbs... I don't think that Mr DiNozzo is capable of visitors right now...", he started, but Gibbs butted in:

"Like hell he is! Besides YOU're here!", Gibbs spat and approached the hospital bed:

"Why did you retrain him?!", he asked angrily, and the man looked at him over the edge of his glasses:

"Because he was violent and hysterical, possibly because of severe PTSD", Dr Forry said and Gibbs looked at him:

"Violent?", he asked and frowned... Tony violent? That just wasn't possible.

"We think it was the mix of the many drugs he has in his system that triggered a delusional state of mind and...", the doctor started, but was interrupted:

"Gibbs, please get these off me...!", Tony's voice said and both of the men's heads turned. Tony was looking at Gibbs, as he lay there, almost completely incapable of moving. Dr Forry looked back at Gibbs with a kind of surprised look on his chubby, shaved face:

"That's the first coherent thing he has said in an hour", he said and Gibbs walked up to Tony and put his hand on the bed's metal frame again:

"Consider them off, DiNozzo...", he said as he started to loosen one of the light brown leather wrist restraints – however dr Forry immediately grabbed a hold of Gibbs' wrist:

"No, you can't do that!", he said strictly, but Gibbs just slowly turned his head and looked at him:

"Yes I can and yes I will", he said and pulled free his arm as he started to work on the buckle on the cuff-looking restraint. Dr Forry stepped back a little:

"If you don't stop right now I will call security. Agent Gibbs, this man is considered dangerous!", he said as he face was starting to redden from anger. Gibbs didn't even look at him as he freed Tony's bruised left wrist:

"This kind of treatment is more dangerous than he will ever be. I'll take him into custody myself...!", Gibbs said as he started working on Tony's right wrist. Almost all of the time Gibbs had eye contact with his senior agent, who was looking at him with gratitude and all of the sanity Gibbs could think of. No, Tony hadn't lost his mind... He had lost pretty much everything a man holds sacred, but not his mind. Gibbs could see it in his green eyes.

"If you sign the release form, then maybe it can be done, but I must insist...", Dr Forry started, but Gibbs turned around and glared at him:

"Then go get it!", was the simple order out of Gibbs' mouth as he started working on the fixation belt. He looked at Tony again, studied the marks, cuts and bruises on his face. But mostly the hurt look in his eyes. Dr Forry was hesitating to leave and Gibbs let out a sigh:

"I can handle him, just go", he said and nodded his head towards the open door. Finally the bald psychiatrist seemed to give up and walked out the door, shaking his head.  
Tony swallowed and his eyes seemed to become a tiny bit wet:

"Thank you...", he said and Gibbs just nodded as he sent him a smile:

"You'll be fine, DiNozzo", Gibbs said as he finally was able to free Tony's ankles. With a groan Tony sat himself up on the hospital bed and rubbed his sore wrists.

"What happened earlier?", Gibbs asked and looked at Tony, who was actually gaining eye contact with his boss now. However Gibbs was still careful not to touch him.

"I... I don't know, boss. It kinda clicked", Tony said and his cheeks seemed to flush with red. Gibbs merely smiled to show Tony that it was okay.

"When I.... saw that needle...", Tony said, but trailed off and Gibbs nodded to make sure that his senior agent knew that he understood:

"It was a flashback", Gibbs said and Tony licked his lip and nodded.

"I need to get out of here, boss", Tony suddenly said and staggered to his feet – he almost fell and Gibbs automatically reached out his arms to stop the fall, but Tony regained his balance and managed to utter a slight panicky:

"No..."  
The older man immediately backed off:

"Alright...", he said just as Dr Forry came back in with some papers and small pill bottles – Tony immediately eyed him and Gibbs could see him tense up.

"Easy...", Gibbs said and he could see Tony's jaw clenching, making the muscles visible. However he seemed to calm back down. The doctor had noticed too:

"Are you sure you want to take Mr DiNozzo out of here?", he asked and Gibbs took a few steps forwards and snatched the release form out of his hand:

"Yes, I am and...", he started, but this time Tony interrupted him:

"And I'm right here, I'm not some vegetable you can talk to in third person – by the way, thanx for the stay, real nice bondage - and good thing with the vacancy, I know it's often crammed inhere, unlike your brain, so if you'll excuse us – we have a  
life to return to", Tony said in a fast, sarcastic tone and walked for the door. Both the doctor's and Gibbs' eyebrows rose in surprise at this sudden, almost humouristic outburst – Gibbs doodled his name on the form and quickly followed Tony out on the hallway, leaving a flabbergasted psychiatrist behind.  
As he walked up to Tony there was a small smile on his face:

"Sure told him off, DiNozzo", he said and Tony turned his head and briefly smiled at his boss. Yes, he actually smiled.

"Felt good?", Gibbs asked and this time a genuine grin spread on Tony's face:

"Hell yeah", he said as they walked for the exit in a slow tempo in order not to exhaust the battered Tony too much.

"Hey, you forgot these!", Dr Forry's voice said behind them and Tony just stopped with a sigh while Gibbs turned around, looking at the man. The bald man handed Gibbs two pill bottles:

"It's mild benzodiazepines for the shock... just to take off the top...", he said and added:

"One pill morning, noon and night", he said and looked over Gibbs' shoulder at his patient who seemed to be frozen in his track.

"I'm not taking any pills", Tony murmured, but Gibbs and Dr Forry ignored him as Gibbs took the pills and walked back to Tony.

"Let's get out of here", Gibbs said as he looked at Tony, who nodded.

As they got in the car Tony had a little trouble sitting comfortably in the seat... his entire body ached like acid had been poured over it. Both on the outside and inside. Gibbs noticed:

"Trouble, DiNozzo?", he asked and fished up one of the two pill bottles from his pocket, offering it to his senior agent. Tony shook his head:

"I want painkillers, not zombie medicine... think I had my share of that", he said in a low tone of voice and didn't even look at the bottle Gibbs offered him.

"Are you sure?", Gibbs asked, but Tony didn't answer. He suddenly seemed far away in thoughts. Gibbs managed to take a look at him as they stopped by a traffic light:

"DiNozzo?", he asked in a paternal voice. Tony seemed to glare into space, but then a small grin appeared in the corner of his mouth:

"Now THAT's what I call legs that won't quit...!", he just said and Gibbs frowned:

"What?", he asked and DiNozzo was still staring into the air:

"The girl on the rollerblades, boss", he said, the grin still plastered on his face. Gibbs looked at the sidewalk – and there was a brunette on red rollerblades, in tight sports clothes, working her way down the street. A smile immediately appeared on Gibbs face:

"So is it good to be back?", he asked and Tony smiled:

"Yes. Yes, it is, boss. I just hope that... she gets a lot of jail time", he said and seemed to lose interest in the rollerblade girl. Gibbs let out a small sigh:

"Too late for that I'm afraid, DiNozzo", he said and watched as Tony's head snapped to the side, his eyes wide again, but before he could start asking how she escaped or avoided being proceeded against, Gibbs said:

"She shot herself. Right outside of the interrogation room. Snatched Ziva's gun... She's dead, DiNozzo", he said and for a moment Tony seemed completely flabbergasted. Silence fell. Gibbs didn't quite know how to interpret that silence...

"Oh, there's another one!", Tony suddenly said, pointing at a blond woman carrying a brown paper bag from the nearest grocery store.

"It's impolite to point", Gibbs said as a grin spread on his face again.

"Sorry, boss. Would you say an eight or a nine?", Tony asked as he studied the woman and Gibbs let out a laugh:

"She looks like a nine", Gibbs said as he turned the wheel and drove down the street, looking for the nearest pharmacy:

"Let's get you some painkillers", he said and smiled.

"And pizza", Tony added.

"And pizza", Gibbs laughed as they drove off.

* * *

Later two notes was found in Cassandra's apartment, one of them reading:

**YOU MISSED THE BUNNY, NCIS**

**- The gamer**

And the final note, found under a coffee table read:

******I SEALED YET A FATE  
ON MILLS ROAD 98**  
**  
- The Gamer**

* * *

**THE END**


End file.
